A Snake Is Born
by CHAOS AND TRANQUILITY
Summary: "... and while the Basilisk venom simmers, add a dash of Soul. Gently stir in the phoenix tears and garnish with some Mother's Sacrifice. Your freak of magic is now ready to be served". AU GoF packed with dark truths,betrayal, and new hopes. The world has no idea what was awoken deep under those stone halls...
1. Chapter 3

**Chapter 1: Chapter 1**

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Before you start reading this story let me say few things.

1\. I absolutely hate super!Harry stories

2\. I despise weak veela Fleur

3\. I hate soul bonds and marriage contacts.

4\. I really want to go on but I don't think you guys will appreciate it.

Now, I pride myself for being able to twist my characters into something different. Why am I rambling? Because if you read only the first chapter then you'll reach a conclusion that this fic is about a super!Harry . Soulbond!Harry Grey!Harry. Which, ironically, is the thing I never want my fic to be. So, read atleast till chap 5 before you reach any conclusions.

Arghhh. Just using this '!' symbol irks me to no end. I am told that my story picks up pace from fifth chapter onwards. Anyway, Read and review.

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 **Disclaimer: I do not own HP**

Prologue

"Even the bird knows you are dying. Can't you see his tears?" Riddle's voice was fading.

Pain, my oldest friend, greeted me. My very blood seems to be on fire. My heart was filled with molten lava. But it was nothing, nothing when compared to my scar. It felt like it was ripped open and was being dripped in acid. My eyes were blinded by a light so bright that it penetrated my eyelids and still burned my eyes. My bones were broken. I couldn't scream for I had bitten my own tongue off. I did not know for how long it was. Hours, days, years? But it was long enough for me to realize that this pain was my reality. Oh how I wished for it to end, to die. But no, the sweet blackness of death, it never came. Then like it came the pain was gone. I could not move. I was aching all over. Somehow my tongue had grown back.

 _'My. Throat. Water.'_

 _"Here_ "

A gentle female voice. Some one lifted my head and gently pressed a goblet to my mouth. Cold smooth water filled my mouth. I gulped it down as fast as I could.

"G-Ginny?" I rasped.

"Not quite." My vision was getting sharper. A girl was sitting beside me. I could see a massive basilisk lying dead beneath Slytherin's statue. May be it was because of the trauma, for it took me few minutes before I realized that I was sitting beside a girl I didn't know.

"You really are a Gryffindor, aren't you?" the girl asked. And somehow I knew it wasn't really a compliment.

"What?"

She shook her head as if she was disappointed. It was then that I noticed that she was quite pretty. Well, beautiful if the truth was to be told. Black hair flowed like a waterfall over her shoulders. She had obsidian black eyes and an angular face with pink delicate lips. She murmured something that sounded awfully like idiot. I wanted to ask her who she was. But I was so tired, so weak. Sleep claimed me. The last thing I saw was her comforting smile.

* * *

Next time I woke up someone was wiping my forehead with a wet towel. This time I was so tired that I couldn't even speak, I barely registered the fact that it was too cold for to be summer. I did notice it was the same girl from the chamber who was tending to me. She just smiled and chanted something in Latin and I knew no more.

I had woken up about an hour ago. I couldn't move. My vision was obstructed by green drapes hanging from my four post bed. She came bearing a tray full of vials filled with different potions. She smiled warmly seeing I was awake. "Where am I?" I asked

"Where were you when you lost consciousness, Harry?" She sounded like a primary school teacher.

"The Chamber of secrets, Why?"

"And what's the last thing you remember?" Great, she's condescending now.

"Riddle trying to kill me. Why?" ' _Bloody hell' .Riddle. Where the hell is my wand? Why am I sitting here? He could be behind me. Where the hell is Ginny?"_ I scrambled for my wand, but I couldn't find it anywhere. She seems to have understood my concerns because she held out my wand.

"Thanks"

"Not quite"

Déjà vu. "Are you Riddle?" I was still on my back, I couldn't even stand up. If this was indeed Riddle he (she?) could easily kill me. I had no wand. No sword. No hat.

She just smiled sadly. "I am and I am not. But if I wanted to hurt you, I would've done it while you were unconscious. But we'll discuss it later. Now sleep"

And like that I slept.

* * *

Next time I woke up I was not alone. She was sitting beside me on my bed.

My eyes searched frantically for anything that could be used to defend myself. But I found nothing of the sort. She smiled knowingly but said nothing. After I had calmed down somewhat she asked,

"Would you like to eat or talk?" There was a plate filled with food.

"Talk. Though why you gave me a choice, I don't know. You hold all the cards right now, don't you?" I asked bitterly.

"Good. You are thinking like a Slytherin. If you want to survive we need it," She was looking at me like I was a puzzle." So let's play 20 questions. I'll answer all to the best I can."

' _This girl is officially weird.'_

"Who are you?"

"I don't know. Before you ask, yes that is the truth though not the whole truth. I'll explain after sometime" .

Great! The professor mode is back.

"Er, where are we?"

"Chamber of secrets of course, You didn't think the basilisk was the secret, did you? No, never mind of course you did," She huffed as if I had offended her greatly.

Gods, she had a good pair of lungs.

"Since you can't ask the right questions, I shall have to tell you what transpired after your encounter with the basilisk" ".

"er, ok…" Why was she speaking like this? Her social skills were definitely rusty, if at all present.

"Drink this" she pushed a goblet in to my hands.

"What is it?" It looked like pure water but it was more viscous than water.

"It's a calming potion. You'll need it" . I just shrugged. If I have to I'll drink it, for now I'll just keep it.

"Whatever suits you, since you can't comprehend complex magical theories and Giompes parallel conclusion and Harpo's Horcrux creation rituals I'll keep it simple. You Harry, carried a piece of lord Voldemort's soul in your scar for twelve years."

"What?" I was horrified. I carried a piece of that murderer in my head? The bastard who killed my parents?

"Yes, how do you suppose you knew parseltongue, a genetic trait which your parents never had?"

That evil thing was in my head? That's why the hat wanted me in slytherin, because I was evil.

She must've known what I was thinking because she continued. "It was an unintentional act. I don't think Voldemort even knew about it. It _never_ influenced you Harry. Rather it was the other way around. When the dark soul of Tom came in contact with your soul it was…. cleansed for the lack of better word. His soul was fragmented and tarnished, whereas yours was and is whole and pure. You see that bit of soul was a horcrux. Most horrid and evil thing one can create using dark arts." She sighed.

I was somewhat relieved.

"What is this horcrus?"

"Horcrux not horcrus, Harry, is something that can be used to ensure immortality. As long as it is unharmed none can kill the creator of that horcrux"

"So, I'm the reason Voldemort's still alive?" I feel disgusted, dirty. I am the reason that bastard's alive. Murderer of my parent lives because I live.

"No" She grabbed my hands. Her fingers, slender and soft, fitted perfectly with mine. A tingle of electricity ran down my spine.

"No?" was I reassuring myself?

"No "She said it so fiercely that I felt compelled to believe her, her obsidian black eyes were piercing into mine.

"But you said-"

"You are hearing Harry, not listening. I said you carried a piece of his soul. There are a few things that can destroy a horcrux. And one of them is-"

"Basilisk venom" I guessed. She beamed and my stomach did a flip flop.

"Yes. Now this is where it gets interesting. You Harry had the protection from your mother, Love, purest of light magic. A horcrux is one of the darkest creations of dark magic. When the basilisk bit you Fawks tried to heal you with his tears. Two substances that are as opposite as light and day. No one has ever tried mixing these _unique_ ingredients ever before. Combine it with a nearly regenerated soul piece of riddle-"

"The diary was a horcrux too?" I felt like throwing up. How many more did he have?

"It was, not anymore. Your courage, sacrificing your life for someone you barely even know, and the ambient magic of the chamber resulted in something."

I gasped. Suddenly everything clicked.

"One piece of riddle, one piece cleansed from your scar, one piece from Ginny and one piece from you.

"A new soul created from dark and light magic, blessed by a phoenix and a basilisk."

"You"

I was awe struck."B-But life can't be created by magic. It's the –"

"Fundamental law of magic." She interrupted. "But what am I? Am I something new? Or am I something different? I do not know. "

She said calmly, yet I can feel that she is sad. _'Wait, how can I know that?'_

"Where is Ginny?" I asked trying to distract myself from the strange feeling. I was getting tired again just by talking.

"That's the problem Harry. When all of this happened you were so near to death. Fawks thought you were dead. So he flashed Ginny out of the chamber along with the sorting hat and the sword."

"Well, why are we still here? Couldn't you have brought me to the hospital?"

I had a nagging feeling she was hiding something from me.

"And tell them what? That I am a piece of Voldemort? Be another pawn for Dumbledore? And anyway it took me three month to gain consciousness. And I can't move more than hundred meters away from you before I collapse from pain since my life is tied to yours and not the other way around."

"Thr-three months? I've been here for three months?"

"No, it took three months for me to recover. For you it took seven months Harry."

' _Wow, gee thanks for the warning"._

Black spots appeared in my vision. I fainted.

* * *

 _Then came the memories._

 _Memories of a green eyed delinquent. Memories of a black haired boy . Memories of a cup board. Memories of an orphanage._

 _I was reliving my worst memories. Dursleys, Tommy, Dumbledore, Amanda, Quirell._

 _I?_

 _Amanda?_

 _'who the hell is Amanda?'_

 _'what the fuck is happening to me?'_

 _'May be I should check my occlumency shields'_

 _A random thought strayed into the forefront of my mind._

 _What the hell is occlumency?_

 _Too late. Like a dam that just broke my mind was flooded with memories. Memories that I hid in the darkest corners of my heart. They broke through my weak shields with the subtlety of a bull in china shop._

 _Memories._

 _Sixteen years of memories._

 _Memories of a ruthless cunning slytherin._

 _At first I thought i was dreaming. Then I remembered, I never had dreams._

 _."_ I woke up panting.

Realization came down on me like a thunderbolt. I just saw through sixteen years of somebody else's life.

No, not someone. Riddle's.

I lived the life of riddle

"Breathe, Harry, breathe" she gently cupped my face.

"We-me Wh-what?"

"What to do? Just drink this. It's a calming potion." Her voice has calming effect on me. I gulped the potion down in one second. I can already feel my nerves getting calm. Once I gained my cool I gestured her to continue.

"The chamber's magic preserved us for three months. When I woke up I called the house elves assigned to the chamber and with the help of them began healing have been here for about ten months now."

 _'What?_ I slept for three months?

"How is that possible?"

"You are magically exhausted Harry. Each time you fell asleep you were actually in some kind of self induced coma state. I tried my best to heal you."

"How do you know all this? I mean healing, horcrux, and chamber. You are only one year old for heaven's sake!"

She laughed. Gone was the princess, she laughed like a small kid, laughed till she was gasping for air. She clutched her sides as she tried to collect herself, though even when she answered her lips were twitching. "I'm as old as you Harry. I know because I know. I have seen your entire life. I have the knowledge of sixteen year old tom, strangely though, nothing from Ginerva," She paused.

"You are still naïve Harry. You haven't asked the question you should have asked." She looked at me waiting, waiting for me to ask that question.

A simple question. Yet it shall change everything.

"How can I trust you?"

"Who do you trust?"

"Dumbledore" I replied reflexively.

"Why Dumbledore? What has he done to earn your trust? Think before you act, Think before you trust. I'll leave you for now."

She stood and left the room.

 _'Why did I say that? Why not Ron? Hermione?"_ as I lay in my bed my mind was at chaos. Why do Trust Dumbledore? Why should I trust him? He, who left me with Dursley's. He caused me a decade of pain and misery on me. Then here at Hogwarts my life has been of a hero who needs to face one threat after another. A school which is supposed to be the best and safest place on Earth and I've had more near death experiences during these two years than any normal wizard will have to in their entire life.

And then I realized the truth. I became the very thing I despised. I became a sheep. I followed the mass. I fell for the illusion.

* * *

Next time she came I asked her a question that I should have asked before."What should I call you?"

She looked surprised."What brought that?"

"Well, I think a pretty lady such as you needs a name." I blurted out before I could stop myself, I can feel my cheeks burning up. _'Good graces potter! You're flirting!"_

To my surprise she smiled. "I haven't decided on one yet. But I think we need to work on that trust issue. Just because I'm helping you don't mean you can trust me. I may be manipulating you. "

"Well, if you are manipulating me then you wouldn't tell me that, would you?"

"What if I told you that because I wanted you to think like that?"

She tilted her head and her dark hair caressed her face, a lone strand stood out and I very much wanted to tuck it in. I realized why she did that.

"You just did that to distract me" I said accusingly.

"Very good, Harry. But on to our problem, trust."

"Dumbledore" I said simply

"Let's start from the beginning. Why did he leave you with those filthy muggles? Don't deny it Harry. You and I both know you hate them. They are vile creatures. I have seen you abused, neglected and punished. I have felt what you have felt. Why did he create obstacles that can be solved by three first years to stop a dark lord? The same person who by _chance_ told you how the mirror of erised works?"

"He was testing me" I thought out aloud.

"Yes, and doing so he endangered all of Hogwarts. But in the end like a hero he comes and saves you with a few flicks of his wand. He knew a basilisk was the monster of the chamber and yet did nothing to stop it, He said so when Colin was petrified. Even the muggle borns who know next to nothing about magic trust and believes in him. He who risked their very own life? Who could not save Hagrid even though he was innocent? "She was literally red with anger; I mean her eyes glowed red.

"Why didn't he tell anyone about his suspicions? For all his fault none can deny that he is a brilliant man. Yet are we to believe that he was unable to deduce that the basilisk was the monster of the chamber? Even Hermione can see through that."

"Why?" she was tearing down everything I believed.

"I think he believes us to be his pawns .He is the king and he alone knows the plots and moves."

"But you still haven't answered my question. How can I trust you?"

" You can't, Harry. I very much want you to , but I have nothing to make you trust me."

An awkaward silence. I decided to break it.

"So what happened outside? The short version please"

"Everyone think you are in some kind of coma lying in the hospital wing, somebody is impersonating you. My guess is that its Dumbles work to avoid trouble. They tried to enter the chamber to no avail. Ginny confessed and Hagrid was released. PR nightmare followed for throwing innocent without trial into Azkaban, Dumbledore was re instated as headmaster for saving the school and you from the monster. Right now it's the end of the term feast."

"What is your source?''

"House-elves. Though I don't know have all the relevant facts."

I took a moment to take everything in. I had the knowledge. But I was not a Planner. Somehow I knew she would be the one to do the planning. I looked down. I was healed finally. Magic is a fickle you have discovered yourself it comes to you like moonlight to meadow, bathing you with her blessing. It was time.

I had finally shed my skin. I have discovered myself. I am Not a sheep, I am not just a lion. I am a snake. And it was time for me to strike. Strike hard and leave chaos at your wake. I will leave the planning to her. Right now the sheep needs a show.

"Well, come on Tamsyln," I put on my cheery face.

"What?"

"Oh! Come on. I know you wanted to be called that."

"It doesn't give you the right to do so" she huffed.

"Fine, What may I call you milady?"

"You may call me Tamsyln" she replied in haughty manner.

I felt as if she was my best friend, I don't know why. May be its because that we share a soul, may be because of we bounded ourselves. I could tell that she felt the same way too.

"My wand please Miss Tamsyln" the familiar holly and phoenix wand. Something was missing from it, not something big, yet something was not there.

With a flick I transfigured my tattered dress into an elegant robe.

"What is your plan?" I can see she is curious.

"Do you have an animagus form?"

"Of course I do." She acts like she is offended.

"Snake, I assume?" _'Would you look at that! Me acting all elegant and eloquent.'_

I exited myrtles bathroom with a small viper with red crest on its head in my pocket.

"Ssso, what isss the plan?" She hissed

"Plan my dear? Im jussst making it up as I go." I hissed back knowing that it will irk her.

"What" I never knew snakes could express astonishment." I ssshall leave the planning to need to let them know I am back. SShow them that I am not weak"

Nearing the great hall I can hear the chatter of students.

I decided to do the classic.

A flick of my wand and the doors of the great hall opened with a loud BOOM!

The entire hall went silent. All eyes were on me. I smiled innocently and tried to channel my inner Schwarzenegger.

"I'm back"

Pandemonium erupted


	2. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not Own HP

Chapter 2

A Game Of Chess

 _A flick of my wand and the doors of the great hall opened with a loud BOOM_

 _The entire hall went silent. All eyes were on me. I smiled innocently and tried to channel my inner Schwarzenegger._

 _"I'm back"_

 _Pandemonium erupted_

* * *

I admit that the reaction wasn't quite what I had expected. I was prepared for the shouts. ("POTTER","HARRY"). What I had not prepared for was the six crimson bolts rushing towards me. Bugger Dumbledore. In a split second I made my decision. I took them right to my chest and collapsed.

I seem to have a hobby of waking up in hospitals. When I woke up the hospital wing was empty. But that didn't mean I wasn't being watched. The portrait of a snoring witch hung over my bed post. She was snoring too loudly. It was obvious to me that she was merely faking it. I gently reached into my pockets. Tamsyln curled around my hand and hid underneath the long sleeves of my shirt. I can't risk communicating with her. I want her to keep quiet. She seems to understand since she was as still as possible.

Looking back, that wasn't probably a good idea to re enter the world so soon. I should have planned a little more before coming up. But, oh, well, the games afoot now.

"Harry, m'boy" the doors of the hospital wing opened and Dumbledore walked in. if I didn't know better I would have believed his happy grandfather persona. "I am sorry for the stunners my dear boy. I just acted out of reflex. Old age does make one paranoid." He really did look sorry. Tamsyln twitched for a second.

"Oh! Don't worry sir. It was my fault. I really shouldn't have done that. I was worried about Ginny sir. I wanted to know about her. But when I woke up I couldn't find her. A-And I panicked. Please tell me she's alright sir. Where's Ron? Professor Lockhart? Oh no! Did Riddle get to them? SIR, it was a diary-Riddle .Hagrid was innocent-"

"Calm down Harry. No one's hurt. Young Ginerva is fine. A little shaken but nothing time can't cure."

Oh I was killing my role. The terror, innocence, and paranoia everything added just about the right quantity. My occlumency shields projected the image of Ginny lying on cold wet floor. Even Tamsyln seems surprised by my skill. She squeezed my forearm.' _May be I'm overselling it a bit'_

"Oh" I looked down as if I was ashamed. He bought it. _'Take that you old coot'_

"There is nothing to be ashamed of Harry. A young boy such as your self should have never suffered such terrible ordeal. I failed you m'boy. And I'm begging for your forgiveness"

This was it, the choice. I can either tell him everything and be a pawn again or carry on with my plan. He is not an evil person. But that makes his crimes more terrible. He is so sure of himself, sacrificing pawns for saving his queen. He may be the leader of light, but his hands are stained with blood of innocents. His inactions and insistence on giving second chances have resulted in the deaths of hundreds if not thousands. I know of his duel with Grindelwald. If he hadn't delayed that duel for about ten years millions of life could have been saved. He delayed a confrontation with him because great Albus thought grindelwald will eventually repent. He was not senile. No, Albus Dumbledore is a cunning ruthless man hiding beneath that mad hatter persona. He hides in plain view. And so shall I. Till my time comes I'll play his game. It's easier to manipulate the manipulator if he takes you for a different person. Let him think that I'm the same gullible Harry potter. I mustn't forgive him quickly. I need to show some teenage angst.

"I know sir. I am just confused. Why was I left down there in the chamber? I have been there for a week now haven't I? Why it is that nobody had come to see me? Do they still believe I'm the heir of slytherin?"

My hands shook in mock anger. I avoided eye contact with him. It must be due to my knowledge for I feel far more matured than I should be. _'Heh! So is maturity based on experiences or knowledge?'_ I was playing his game. I am now using him to get the facts without revealing what I know. Half truths and lies. I feel like we are playing a chess game. By saying that I have been down there for a week I can just skip all other parts I don't want him to know. He'll think that I have mistaken this year's end of term feast for last year. We are now playing a game that began over a month ago. A Grand master Is playing against a sixteen year old Dark Lord. Riddle's skills are mine now. A game of lies and half truth, a game that started when I realized the truth. _His mistake_. Now we are face to face. ' _Black moves his pawn. Your move Dumbledore.'_

"Harry, the truth is sometimes more stranger than fiction. And when it comes to our world, magic makes it much more. I shall tell you everything Harry. But I am afraid I don't know what happened down in the chamber." He sighed.

Wow. He turned my play on me. _Knight takes pawn_. Note the fact he didn't ask me a question. He _need_ to know what happened. He is leading me with blank statements. Even with Riddle's skill I need to be careful. Tam gently flicked her tongue. She wants me to tell him. _'How can I understand her? File away for later"_

I sighed and recounted my tale. When I mentioned how riddle came out of his diary I saw his eyes widening. He knew. He knew the diary was a horcrux. That means he must have known about my scar as well. _Bishops take knight_. I gained information from him without even letting him know. He smiled when I mentioned Fawkes battling the basilisk. _' He thinks he just got something he wanted.'_

"And then I passed out. Before I did I stabbed the diary with the fang." A lie. But he doesn't need to know that. "When I woke up the chamber was empty. The diary was burned to ashes. I searched everywhere for Ginny. But I couldn't find her I rushed back up."

"I see. And that bit about "I'm back"?" _white bishops checks king_.

 _'Shit. I just walked into that one'._ It just didn't fit in with my story. Perhaps I can blame it on the trauma?

"I don't understand, sir, where is every one?"

I tried to evade with a question. Knight blocks bishop. _'Take the bait'_

"Harry, I believe you. I trust that you have earned the truth. I think you are a strong person and can bear the burden of truth. You were in the chamber for a year Harry. Young Ginerva is a second year now. "

"WHAT!" I don't have to fake the anger and astonishment. He just told me a thing I will find out sooner or later and made it looked like he was giving me something important. He was trying to bend me again.

"The truth sometimes hurts more than the sharpest of blades Harry."

"S-So everyone thinks I'm dead. No. Ron, Hermione... "I tried hard and made a few fake tears.

"Oh no, Harry. I couldn't let them bear such a pain, Not right after what young Ginerva had to suffer. They were terrified for Ginny. If I had told them you were dead..."

He shuddered. "So I made a golem which looked like you and spread a story that you were in a coma"

White moves the pawn leaving his king unprotected. I was shocked. I didn't expect him to confess. What is his game? Tam squeezed my arm tightly. She knows what he is doing. And then it clicked. He wanted me to attack him. If I didn't he'll know I am being nice on purpose. If a man is acting perfectly the best way for one to make him slip is by changing the scene suddenly. If he is supposed to act like gentleman smash his face in. A good actor will still act politely; He'll try to avoid conflict. But that's his cover blown. A perfect one will retaliate.

"What? Why? How did you know I was alive? If you knew why didn't you rescue me?" I tore into him like a lion to a gazelle. _Black knight moves. Check_

"I had several unique instruments to check your conditions Harry. I confess I was worried about your health after the encounter with Voldemort last year. So I made Some Trinkets. Call it an old man's worry" he sighed.

 _'He was spying on me'_

Had he looked at me that moment he would have noticed my face reddening with anger. I collected myself before he could notice.

"I knew you were alive if barely. I asked Fawkes to help me enter the chamber right away when young Ginerva confessed. But the chamber seems to have locked itself against Fawkes. I suspect Salazar Didn't take kindly to the attack on his basilisk by Fawkes." I know that's not the case. The high degree of magic saturated the chamber and made the wards think that they were under attack. They locked the chamber from all external intruders. It took almost an year for the magic to dissipate. Tamsyln had told me when we were travelling up the pipe. But let him draw his own conclusions.

"How did I survive sir?'

"I can only speculate Harry. I think Phoenix tears countered the Basilisk venom and the magic of the chamber preserved you in some kind of coma." _Knight takes knight_. This is why Voldemort feared Dumbledore. I gave him only what I knew he'll find out sooner or later yet he already guessed the truth. Not the whole truth but still that's impressive.

He was looking at me over his half moon glasses. He wants me to reveal something more.

"Sir, can I stay here for the summer?" I added a little hesitation. This was imperative to my plans. He needs to think that I'm looking up to him. I need to be in the castle. I have to some research in the chamber.

"Why do you want to stay here, Harry?"

"I'm-I'm afraid sir. I don't know how to face them all. Ron, Hermione. I'm an year behind them. And I don't know how I can face them. I want some time alone. I think I'm changing"

I just gave him a golden goose. If he accepts he will be able to watch over me. He can meddle can control me. He'll be able to make sure that I'll be changing in a direction he wants me to. He doesn't want external influence over me. This is my gambit. _Queen checks King_. What he doesn't know is that I want to be here. What better place to hide than in plain sight. I need to use the chamber to research, to hone my skills. Just because I know things doesn't mean I can perform them. I need to practice my skills.

His blue eyes are piercing into mine. I felt a legilimency probe. I quickly projected sorrow and desperation. He seemed to be satisfied.

"I think that is for the best Harry. But never push away your friends. Take your time. As they say time shall heal everything. I'll tell Poppy that you do not wish for visitors. Good night my boy. And if you ever want some peppermints my office shall always be open". His eyes were twinkling. _And check mate. White lose the game._

The moment those wooden doors slammed shut Poppy came rushing over to me.

"You are in perfect health. Even your eyesight's perfect. How did that happen?" She was waving her wand over me and was muttering diagnostic spells. Some I could recognize. I really need to learn healing.

"You're the healer. You tell me. I'm just glad to be alive"

"It's like you have a death wish. Do you like the hospital bed so much that you prefer it over your own?" she glared at me.

"May be I like seeing you. Why else would I be down here so often?" I flashed a smile. Kind persons such as hers can be easily manipulated. A few cheeky comments and she'll be eating out of my palm.

"Get out of here you cheeky brat" She mock ordered me. I felt Tamsyln's amusement.

"Aye, Aye Cap'n "

I saluted her and ran out of the hospital wing. They see what I want them to see.

As I was walking I realized that the portraits and ghosts seem to have developed an unnatural interest in me. I tried my best to act ignorant. I need my cloak. If Hermione is anything like I believed she was she would have made sure it would be safe. She will be keeping it with her. I know I can depend on her. But can I trust her? I don't know. I tried my best to avoid the students. They were all hurrying to get the best seats on the train. I saw a bush of hair. There were no paintings or ghosts around. What I am about to do is unforgivable. I need to mean it.

 _"Imperio"_

I felt a rush of power. Something was whispering me to do more. Dark arts, it will twist the weak minds. I hastily pulled my Occlumency shields up. I felt no remorse. I won't hurt her. I watched her as she walked towards me. Her eyes were glossed over. I looked around and ordered her to enter into a hidden passage.

"Do you have the cloak?" I asked.

"Yes"

"Hand it over" she searched her bag hand handed it over to me.

"Why do you have it?"

"I wanted to keep it safe. I didn't want anyone to know that you had an invisibility cloak" she answered without any emotions.

"Why didn't you give it to Ron?"

"We had a fall out. He hasn't talked to me for months"

I felt pity. She was my friend. I don't know whether we will be in the future.

"Sshee desserves better." Tamslyn hissed.

Funny, I think I just felt jealousy mixed with concern.

"She does" I said more to myself. She looked like hell. Her cheeks were hollow. Her skin looked so pale that she looked like a vampire.

"Why do you look like you just came out of a coffin?"

"I over used the Time-Turner given to me. The stress of all the extra courses caught up to me."

 _'Bloody hell'_ whatever I expected wasn't this. Idiot. Always thinking she can handle everything. Superiority complex is her fatal flaw.

"Assk her where isss it now?" Tamsyln hissed. She has some plan.

"Where is it now?"

"With professor McGonagall "

 _"Obliviate"_

I hid behind a tapestry. She shook her head and proceeded to walk toward the station. I so wanted to help her. But people will notice her missing. Besides if I meet her now my cover will be blown. I made a mental note to check on her later. I'll have to owl her soon. Right now I need to speak with Tamsyln. I only have a few minutes window before Dumbledore notices that I'm missing.

* * *

I leaned back against the wall as I watched Tam morphing back to human. _'Tam. It's nice, isn't it?'_

We were in an abandoned room. It was fascinating to watch her morph back. Her wide eyes, smooth skin, pink lips, she was angelic. I didn't realize that I was staring at her till her obsidian eyes were piercing into mine.

"What? Did I do something wrong? Is my face okay?" She touched her face with her hands to make sure she completed the transformation correctly.

"N-No. I just zoned out for a second" I stammered.

We both know that's not the truth. I can feel her amusement. We need to discuss this connection. But we have no time right now. "What's the plan?" I asked her.

"We need that Time-Turner. We should exploit every available resource." She just went from an angel to demon in a second. _She's fascinating_.

"How?"

"Smoke and mirrors. Go to her and tell her you want to complete third year. That you'll try your best to finish it before the school opens for the next year. I'll hide under the invisibility cloak and shall try to steal it. If we are lucky she'll give it to you on her own to help you."

"Okay" .It was not the best plan. But considering that we only have minutes to plan and act it'll have to do. She can do her part and I can do mine. We know the plan is not perfect. But I trust her and she trusts me. My intuition tells me to go forward. I gave her my wand. She needs it. I don't. She nodded and pulled the cloak over her head. I gestured her to follow me.

I knocked the door to McGonagall's office.

"Come in"

I took my time before closing the door. I felt Tam brushing past me.

"Good evening Professor" I said politely.

"Good evening Mr. Potter, I am glad that you are fine. You had us all worried for a bit" So she _does_ has a soft side.

"I'm sorry Professor. I never wished for all that to happen." Let her know that I care her opinions.

"Oh, don't worry about that. If you hadn't done what you had to do a young girl might not be alive now." She feels guilty. ' _It's working'_

 _"_ Have a biscuit" she gestured her hand toward an open tin on her desk. The thin veil appeared behind her for a second and then it was gone. Tamsyln just made a silence ward. I took one biscuit.

"Professor, I was wondering if I can take the third year course over this summer."

Blunt. That'll distract her.

"Albus said you were staying here for the summer. I presume this was the reason?"

"Yes. I need time to adjust. A-and Hogwarts is the only place I feels at peace. "

I just played the pity card. A cabinet behind her glowed blue. Tam was breaking down the wards on it.

"Why do you want to do that? Do not take this the wrong way. But I frankly do not think you have the ability to do that. You wish to complete a year worth knowledge in two months."

"Please Professor. I'll try my best. If you think I can't do it then you can stop it at any time. And then I'll start over again along with next year's third year students."

She thinks it over and sighed.

"I suppose I can always do that. Most of the teachers stay at school during the summer, except for Professor Snape. You'll need to study that by yourself I'm afraid. I shall ask my colleagues to do the same. I can't see them refusing. It's not like we have much to do over the summer. You would do well not to disappoint me Mr. Potter." She said sternly. She never saw her cabinet being opened.

"I'll try my best Professor. "

"Have you thought about changing your electives?" She is gauging me.

"Yes Professor. I wish to take Runes and Arithmency." She smiled a rare smile. The cabinet door closed and the Silencing ward collapsed.

"Good. I suggest you go to the great hall. It's nearly Dinner time. We shall discuss the rest over dinner along with my colleagues."She dismissed me.

As I closed the door I asked out aloud. "Geminio?"

"Yes" came the reply.

As I walked into the old class room I saw another person there. I blinked once, and then blinked again. It was another Harry Potter. He just smiled at me and showed a Time Turner. It was a good thing that I didn't have a wand. Or I would have cursed my future self.

"Go down to the Chamber. Use the cloak. Six turns. Now it is 7:12. Mind the step. I'll go to the dinner. Here's your food" he threw me a cover.

"You are beautiful even when you are invisible Tam" He winked at me and strode out of the room.

Someone punched me on my shoulder. "Ouch! What was that for?" I growled.

"You called me Tam." She said as she pulled the cloak off her.

"No I didn't. _He_ called you Tam"

"And your point is?"

Great! cheeky bastard. I just huffed and threw the cloak over both of us. We started walking towards the Myrtle's bathroom. As we walked I couldn't help notice her pale smooth skin. She smelled like sandal. Her smooth hair brushed my sides. I was disappointed when we stopped.

A familiar pipe with snake engraved stood before us. I wonder how I'm still able to speak parseltongue. She seems to be thinking along the same lines. She tilted her head sideways. _'Merlin! That lone strand of hair caressing her jaw, it was begging me to tuck it in'_ I almost raised my hands to tuck it in.

"You should try it" she whispered. I shivered involuntary at her tone.I wonder if she is doing this on purpose. "I did it last time. Why don't you give it a try?

" ** _Open"_** she hissed. She looks like a kid given a new toy. The pipe opened revealing the slide.

"Together?" she asked

"Together" I grabbed her hand and jumped.


	3. An Endless Loop

Disclaimer: I Do Not Own HP

 _Together?" she asked_

 _"Together" I grabbed her hand and jumped._

* * *

I have read stories where a boy and girl fall on top of each other and get a spark of passion. They'll look at each others eyes and will slowly close the distance between them.

 _This_ is definitely not that kind of story. I fell on my ass hard. She landed graciously like a swan as I cursed inwardly.

She smirked at me and proceeded to climb the stairs leading to the chamber. I followed and tripped.

"Mind the step" I murmured remembering my future self's advice. She glanced over her shoulder and giggled. Well, at least one of us is enjoying this. She opened the chamber door gestured me to follow her.

"What now?" I asked.

"Library" she replied as if it was obvious.

"No."

"No?" she tilted her head sideways. She does that a lot.

"It can wait for some time. We need to speak." I motioned her to follow me to the Bed room. It was used by Slytherin himself. With Tom's knowledge it was easier to access the chamber. Each stone statue of snakes was in fact passageways to different secret rooms. Hence the name "Chamber of _secrets_ "

I sat down near the fireplace. The cold floor was comfortable for me. She sat crossed legged across me.

"Hi, Tamsyln. My name is Harry Potter." I began.

"Er, what are you doing?" She asks. I can see she is confused.

"We are getting acquainted. I mean, you know everything about me. But I don't know anything about you. It's only fair, no?"

She snorted. "I don't even know what I am. How can I tell you anything if I don't even know about myself?" I _felt_ her sadness. She feels she's alone.

"Well, I don't know what you are. But I do know _who_ you are. You are my friend"

"I am?" she sounds so fragile. She helped me when I was broken now it's my turn to do the same for her.

"Of course I am. You can feel it, cant you?"

We both know what I meant. Ever since I woke up I can feel what she feels. I think she can sense mine too.

She nods. If she were anyone else she would've hugged me then and there. But she has seen all of my memories. She knows why I hate physical contact. Every time someone touches me I'm reminded of Vernon and Quirell. Vernon because of his abuse and Quirell because of what I had done to him. In a way I blamed myself, I was weak, so I deserved it. But my new found maturity means I have stopped blaming myself. Tam, even though she doesn't know, is my anchor. But she needs this. So I hugged her. The princess broke down and her cold façade cracked. She sobbed quietly to my shoulders. I stiffened for a moment. Then I felt something .A feeling of content, peace and tranquility. I felt complete for a second. Perhaps it's our souls resonating with each other. I didn't know what to do. Tom had no knowledge about how to console someone. I awkwardly patted her head.

"Did you just pet me?" Her voice was muffled because she was pressing her face against my chest.

"O-Of course not. What are you? A cat?" _'Potter, you moron'._ My inner voice seems to channel Snape.

She wiped her eyes and glared at me. _'Holy mamma, she looks pretty even when she is angry'_

"Er, what's your favorite colour?" I asked hastily

"What?" she was baffled.

"We need to discover who you are. It's important" I said seriously.

"No, we don't. You are just trying to change the subject." She accused.

Damn. I forgot who I was trying to fool. She knows everything I know.

"No, I'm not" _Deny, deny, deny. That's the Slytherin motto._

"Yes, you are"

"Argh!" I thought I was matured. Turns out I'm not.

"Alright I was. Now will you tell me your favorite colour?"

"Green and silver" she's amused.

"Mine's Green and black" I said, even though I know she knows that.

She smiled. She knows I'm doing this for her. Everything has consequences. The consequence of having the knowledge about manipulations is that you can see through almost anything. But the difference between me and Tom is that I care for her. Luckily she knows it too. So we talked. We ate the food the elves gave us.( The packet my future self gave me was empty).We talked about her favorite food ( chocolate soufflé), Music ( One republic _'Hey! mine too'),_ favorite memory ( Me cursing Malfoy for the first time.), Favorite animal ( Snake, no surprises there.) . We talked about those silly little things. (Hey! You should try pony tail; you should grow your hair more.)

We talked and talked till we could talk no more. I saw her stiffling a yawn and I decided it was time for us to retire for the night, or day, or whatever.

"Good night Tam. I'll wake you up in the morning."

"Good night, Harry"

I grabbed the invisibility cloak and went up the pipe to the surface. We need to do something about myrtle soon. I wondered why she didn't notice us opening the chamber. Then it clicked. I turned the hourglass six times. The world around me blurred.

"Harry, what are you doing here? Did you come to visit me?" Myrtles high pith voice startled me.

I slashed my hand open with my wand. Blood poured out of my left palm. I made a double infinity symbol with my wand. The blood on the floor made a circle around Myrtle. Her eyes grew wide. But before she could scream I pressed my wand tip on the floor and whispered _"spiritus ræpling_ _mortuum"*_

Inside the circle a seven pointed star was formed from blood. Blood, myrtle, and my wand tip glowed an eerie blue color for a moment. What I did was blood magic combined with necromancy. I just made myrtle my slave. Tom really did have some useful knowledge.

"Do whatever you normally do. I order you to never reveal anything about me or Tamsyln to anyone. You'll stay clear of us and will not harm us in anyway. You will not tell anyone about what happened today. I'll be coming back in about fifteen minutes. Tamsyln will be with me. You are not to disturb us. "

Myrtle nodded obediently and flew back into her cubicle.

I waved my wand and cleared the mess. My hand will be cured in few minutes. I looked at the time it was 7:10. I entered the class room. I conjured an empty packet. I thought it'll be cool to act mysterious. My old self entered the classroom. He blinked once and then blinked again. It was funny. I just smiled at him and showed him my Time Turner. He looked dumbfounded.

"Go down to the Chamber. Use the cloak. Six turns. Now it is 7:12. And mind the step. I'll go to the dinner. Here's your food" I threw him the empty packet. Gods I am hilarious.

"You are beautiful even when you are invisible Tam" I winked at him and strode out of the room.

As I walked down the corridor I heard a loud "Ouch". I chuckled.

* * *

There were already professors in the great hall. The house tables were gone. Instead a large single round table stood at the central.

"Harry, m'boy, come, come sit down here." Dumbledore patted the seat next to him. I erected my occlumency shields up.

"Thank you sir" I replied politely and acted like I was uncomfortable.

"There is no need to be formal my boy. It's summer after all. Call me Albus." He winked at me. I smiled awkwardly. He wants to get closer to me. Interrogators use the same techniques. Use the first name. It'll make them compelled to trust you. I wonder how long he had been doing this.

"Okay sir. I mean Albus." Perfect. I wonder if I should try out for a movie audition.

"Minerva told me about what you want to do this summer. You continue to surprise me my boy. I have fixed everything with the professors. I strongly believe you can do it. "Of course he does. He can't have me failing a year. Too much variables will enter the play.

"Thank you sir" I called him sir on purpose. I need to slowly ease into calling him Albus. Too fast and he'll get suspicious.

"Albus" He corrected. I knew he would do that.

"Thank you, Albus" I said shyly. I was gagging on the inside. I was not hungry. I was tired and spent. I just wanted to sleep.

" I'll be teaching you DADA as our last teacher resigned." He sighed.

Crap. I have no way out. I hastily put on an awe struck face.

"Really?" _'Please say no, please say no'_

"Really" he chuckled. "Now off you go. We professors need to have staff meeting."

"Okay. Good night, S-Albus."

"Good night, Harry."

I entered the Gryffindor tower and fell on my four posted bed face first. Sleep claimed me.

* * *

A/N: what do you guys think? Love it? Hate it? Review


	4. The Choice

Chapter 5

An Endless Loop

"Ten different mirrors shows your ten different faces"

Warning: mentions abuse, death.

Dreams. Dreams are our brain's way of interpreting thoughts. Ever wonder why your dreams sometimes make no sense at all? I do. Our brain just pieces together floating thoughts from our subconscious mind to form a dream. I have always wondered what an innocent child would dream I'll never know for sure. My dreams were always plagued by death and pain. People go to sleep to relax, to get over the stress. I was always afraid to sleep. For a decade I never had any dreams, I only had nightmares. Every night I begged God to help me. I begged for anyone to help me. It never came. Every day I followed the same routine. Wake up, make breakfast, go to school, get bullied, walk back home, make dinner, clean the plates, clean the house. I had a ten minute window to use the bathroom. Ten bloody minutes!  
I have never been inside a movie theater, never saw a beach, and never ate a pizza. A week never passed by without me having a bruise, cut, or a broken bone. I have always wondered why my bones mended so fast. I hoped against hope for someone to notice the fact that I was being abused. I still wonder why no one noticed the bruises. I never was brave, always was a coward. I always took the beatings Vernon gave me without protest. Never did I ask for food when Petunia was fattening up her Whale. Do you know that severe depression can be hidden? I do. Nobody looked past my mask. They all believed the lies fed by Petunia. Apparently I was a sociopath. I begged someone, anyone to help me. Until one day I stopped caring altogether.

 _When I woke up that morning I was greeted by the same smiley face that I had drawn with blood about two years ago. It was a dark brown color by then. There was nothing special about that day except for the fact that it was my tenth birthday. I must have been distracted by that inconsequential fact because I didn't notice I had_ _burnt the bacon. Neither did I notice that Vernon was drunk nor the smoke alarm going off. I was thinking over and over again. Why, Why me? Why didn't I die along with my parents? Funny, my birthday wish was to die. I was a coward. I didn't have the courage for suicide .Believe me, I tried. It takes immense courage to end your own life._

 _"Good for nothing bastard" was all I heard before I fell to the floor. I thought Vernon had hit me. But why was I wet? I was bleeding; a kitchen knife was still embedded in my lower right abdomen. I didn't care the pain. We were old friends, pain and I, friends forever. The last thought I had before I passed out was that my wish finally came true. Someone above had answered my prayer._

 _Then I woke up. My wound was duct taped. I was back in my cupboard. That was when I snapped. I hadn't cried for years. But that night I cried. I cried like a baby. Cried till my eyes ached, till my lungs grew tired. I cried because I finally realized I had no one. No one cared for me, not even God. I realized that everyone had nightmares when they slept, but not me. No, my entire life was a nightmare. From that day onward I put on a mask. I was a cold, shriveled being on the inside but on the outside I was a shy awkward person. It was an act; it was my way of scoffing at the world. It was me shouting at the world that Harry Potter was dead. I killed him because he wished to die. I became a robot._

Then he came. Hagrid. Poor man, he never met Harry .He met the robot. But he created a spark in Harry. Magic, his magic, she must have been the one who caused that spark. Dear old Harry, he was given hope. He began to heal. Inch by inch, day by day he began healing himself. He acted all cheery outside. The robot had friends. Ron, Hermione, Neville, Seamus, Dean. Poor Harry, he wondered whether they were friends with the robot or him. He never felt happy. Oh he laughed, he cheered, and he felt the adrenalin rush when he flew and he liked it all. But he never was truly happy for something made him feel incomplete. But he was recovering. Slowly but steadily, he was healing. Finally he felt the first ray of happiness.

But then he came. Voldemort.

Poor Harry was now a murderer. No one asked him how he felt, oh. They all rushed to help his body but nobody asked him how he felt. So he took it up on himself to ask how it felt to be a murderer. He was sent back to the Dursley's, his personal hell. This time he was sent there because he needed to be punished for his crime. He became a robot t again. Then he came back to Hogwarts and began healing himself again. Like a broken record, like an endless loop, bending and mending.

I went down to the chamber because I never feared death.

No, my fear is that one day I'll wake up and realize that this has all been a dream. That I never came here, that this has all been my imagination.

Only one other person knows about this. If I had gone back to the Dursley's I would have been broken again .She is the only one who knows me. Tamsyln, she is my salvation, my hope. When she tended to my health down in the chamber I truly felt something after a long time. I felt companionship. She cared for me. She never had to. I was not her friend, not her patient. Yet she cared for me. When she told me she saw my entire life, I felt relieved. I never wanted anyone to know what I had gone through. Still I felt like someone had lifted a weight off my chest.

She has her own Demons. A person with no parents, no past, filled with the memories of an abused twelve year old. I don't need to be a damn psychologist to know that she has her own demons.

The truth is that I never was what they all saw. I want to break free. I want to make sure that there will never be a Harry Potter again. I won't allow any child to grow without parents. It was and is my dream. That was the reason why the Sorting Hat placed me in Gryffindor, because I had a noble cause. What a load of shite. Looking back it should have placed me in Slytherin for the ambition I had.

Little did I know that I was about to be broken again.

* * *

When I entered the chamber it was silent as usual. I decided to surprise Tam. I conjured some flowers and slowly opened her bedroom door.

What I saw will always haunt me till my death.

Her eyes were open, but her pupils were hidden, all I could see were the whites of her eyes. Her back was arched. She was screaming, but no sound came out. I stood dumbly for a second before rushing over to her. I tried everything I knew, blood magic, dark arts but nothing worked. I didn't know what was wrong with her. Finally just before I decided to take her to hospital wing she let out a breath and slowly relaxed. Her eyes grew wide seeing me. I hugged her.

"What happened?" I half asked, half demanded.

"N-Nothing" She tried to move out of my reach. I grabbed her and forced her to look into my eyes.

"What happened, Tam?"

"It's nothing. I've had worse, trust me." She tried once again to move but I held her forcibly.

"What do you mean you had worse? How long has this been going on?"

"I- No, It's nothing Harry. I-" She coughed. I waited for her to regain her composure but she coughed again and again. She tried to cover her mouth but a bit fell on my shirt. It was red in color.

Blood, she was coughing blood.

"We are going to the hospital wing NOW. I don't care what you have to say, but we are going now" I ordered her.

She smiled sadly and a horrible thought struck me.

"No" I whispered. "No" I said again with more force. "No, no, no, no, no'' It can't be. I hoped against hope that it was not happening.

She caressed my jaw with her hands. " I am dying, Harry"

She said it so softly, so calmly. But it felt as if she had stabbed my heart.

"NO" I shouted. I hoped that shouting it out would make it untrue.

"Don't be sad, Harry. I've known it all along." She cupped my cheeks and spoke so softly.

"Yeah, you're right. We can find a cure. I just overreacted" I tried to calm down.

She smiled again, that beautiful yet sad smile.

"There is no cure, Harry"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT THERE'S NO CURE?" I shouted at the top of my lungs. I glared at her. She glared back at me.

"I meant exactly that. Why the hell are you shouting at me? Do you think I want to die? That I never researched it? I have known it for about an year now. I don't want to die you idiot, I want to live. But FUCK I can't. So I decided to accept it. I made sure that when the day comes I will face it bravely." She shouted back at me.

"FUCK YOU" I spat. "You can't die on me like that you bitch. You can't just leave me alone. SO FUCK YOU AND YOUR DEATH SHIT, 'CAUSE I'M NOT GONNA SIT HERE AND LET YOU DIE. YOU'RE EVERYTHING I HAVE FOR FUCK'S SAKE."

"WELL, WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?" she shouted back at me with eyes full of tears.

"I want you to live; I want you to not die" I didn't even care that I was crying.

"I want to live too, you idiot" she broke down and hugged me. We stood like that for some time, neither one of us spoke, we didn't wipe our eyes. We just stood there holding onto each other.

"Wh-why" I asked after what seemed like an eternity.

"I was never meant to be, Harry. I'm a mistake. You were right, magic can't create life; Guess we can't break the fundamental law of magic, huh?" Her lips were quivering.

"How?"

"I've always wanted to watch the lake, can we go?" She asked. I nodded. As we walked towards the lake I looped my arms around her and held her close to me.

"It's beautiful" she whispered and I nodded. I didn't want to think, I thought that if I didn't think about it, it won't happen.

I sat down and leaned against a tree. I did not know what kind of tree it was. It was old yet short. Its branches arched over our heads, leaning over the lake. She put her head in my lap. As I ran my fingers through her hair, she closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

"I am a mistake, aren't I?" she was looking at her arms, examining it as if it was something strange.

"Never say that Tam, you are a gift. You know how I wished for someone to help me, to notice me when I was a kid? "

She nodded.

"You came for me Tam, You saved me. That's why you can't leave me, you are my anchor Tam. If you leave I'll be broken again."

" I want to, Harry, I want to. You have no idea how much I want to. You know how I was unable to move more than hundred meters away from you all those months ago?" I nodded. "Yet for the last weeks we were able to move as far as we wanted to. You didn't even notice anything last night, did you? "She didn't wait for my reply."That's because I am fading. I am bound to your life force Harry, and the bond weakening because I'm fading."

She's fading; it kept on repeating like a broken record, like an endless loop. I had not cried after that night. But now, knowing that she was going to die, I couldn't stop my tears. They fell on her cheeks. She raised her hands and wiped my eyes. Her hands, so soft, caressed my cheeks.

"Don't cry Harry. You have beautiful eyes, they should never be allowed to cry" She spoke calmly.

I suppressed a choke.

"How long?"

"I was created because you needed someone to mend you Harry, You needed someone and Magic granted your wish. She heard your prayers. But now, you don't need someone to mend you. Magic knows this so I have to go now."

"But I do, I do need you. Tam I-I Lo-"

She clamped her hand on my mouth. "Don't say it Harry, please don't say it. You may think that you love me but you don't. With time you may love me, you have feelings for me; Strong feelings yet it's not enough to say that.' She pleaded.

"You don't know what I feel Tam" I was pleading, begging for her to listen, stay.

"I know Harry. That's why I'm saying this. I know what you feel; I know everything you know because I love you."

That was the first time in my life anyone had said that to me. Yet no matter how much I wanted to tell her the same thing I know she wouldn't want me to. She looked into my eyes, black eyes pierced into mine.

"I love you Harry. I love how you smile, how you try to help others, how you always put others before you, how you tried to console me. I love all of you Harry, for I have watched your entire life. How can I not fall in love with you? It breaks my heart to know that you'll never be mine. I want to kiss you, but I won't because those lips can't be mine. I want to you to say that you love me, but yet I won't allow you for it'll only break your heart." Her eyes watered up and she blinked trying not to cry.

"You can't die Tam" I begged her.

"Oh but I won't Harry, I'll just go back inside you. I'll always be with you. I'll always be within you, forever"

" You are mad, dear" I choked.

"Aren't we all Harry?"

We stayed like that for god knows how long. She grew less and less solid with time.

"Why now?" I broke the silence.

"Magic is all about intent Harry, she sensed that you needed help and help she gave. But now I have no purpose. For her I am just a spell that's about to get expired." Professor mode back on. Was it wrong of me to smile at that?

"Can you promise me something Harry?"

"Anything for you sweet heart, anything for you." I tried to put on a brave face for her sake. But the effect was ruined by the tears that ran down my cheeks.

"I want you to promise me that you'll stop pretending. You think that you are a cold, shriveled being .But you are not, Harry, you are not. Believe me, I have seen your heart, I know more about you than anyone else. Promise me that you won't break, that you won't let yourself be taken over by that robot. I want you to promise me that you'll keep on fighting. I want you to promise me, Harry, that you'll never forget me" her outline was blurred now; I could feel her head getting lighter and lighter.

"I promise Tam"

I was trying so hard not to break down; she wouldn't want to see that. I softly kissed her forehead.

"I wish we had more time Harry, Then you would have been able to love me as much as you want to"

"A bit full of yourself, aren't you dear?" I asked.

"Oh, Like you can resist this" she waved her hands over her body.

We both laughed, Laughed more than what we should have laughed. We both wanted to cherish that moment. I kept on stroking her hair.

"Harry?"

"mmhm"

"Why do you like treacle tart?"

"I dunno. I just do"

"mmhhm"

.Silence.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"There is life after love and there is love after love". She said it so seriously that I couldn't help make a crack at it.

"That is so cheesy"

"Shut up, I'm serious" She sat up and tried to smack my arm but it passed right through.

"Huh, guess my time's up" She tilted her head and that lone strand stood out. I tried to tuck it in, but my hands passed straight through it. I'll never be able to tuck it in. It was as if a dam had broken. My occlumency shields broke and I was flooded with emotions. I gasped for air but my lungs just wouldn't work. I wanted to touch her but my hands were numb.

She glowed before bursting into golden mist. It flowed towards me and fused into me. I don't know how it happened for I was still looking at where Tam once stood.

I didn't move for a long time. I did not move till the first ray of moonlight touched the ground where Tam once stood. Then I let out a cry. I shouted at the top of my lungs, I cried and cried. I cried till the sun came up.

I was alone, again. Tam, she was gone.

No, she's not gone I reminded myself. 'She's within you and she wouldn't want you to cry'I told myself. I won't break, for I have a promise to keep.

I stood up. No more hiding. I just lost my queen. The game just changed.

I am NOT Tom.

I am NOT Dumbledore.

I am NOT what the world wants me to be.

I am Harry James Potter. I was playing till now. But Tamsyln would want me to win. I'm going to change the game. I am going to blast that cursed chessboard to oblivion. I am Harry James Potter and I shall uproot the entire world if I have to.

* * *

A/N: A/N: So that just happened. I created Tam. So before you guys flame me know that it wasn't easy for me to "Kill" her. I don't want to make this a typical "Soul Mates" fic were Harry has full support from his mate. One of my best friends just reviewed this fic without knowing that I was the author. I took his advice. I am going to give you some more twists and plots. This fic won't be one where harry is going to be super powered in one night and goes to gringotts for a goblin inheritance test shit. Know this, Harry won't be broken but he won't be perfect either. You'll know what I mean when I update again.


	5. Who Am I

The Choice

* * *

"I have given you knowledge. Now you make the choice. The choice is yours. Do as you desire" Bhagavad-Gita

* * *

As I walked towards the castle my mind was at chaos. Righteous fury swelled within me, you can only suppress your emotions for so long before they take over you. I had promised her that I wouldn't break, that I wouldn't go back to being a robot. My anger at being humiliated, at being abused and neglected clouded my thoughts. My vision flicked back and forth between green and red. I was furious. Furious at Tam for leaving me, at Dumbledore for trying to control me, at Voldemort for destroying my life along with thousands of others. As I walked toward the castle I was covered from head to toe by green flames. Magic, my magic, burned along with my anger. I was beyond furious; I was a walking bomb begging for someone to set me off. I hurried into the chamber. My hands were shaking, teeth clenching, fists balled up. The moment I entered the dueling chambers I let out a cry. I let loose of my control over my magic, she flared around me. But I didn't care, I only had one thought. Destroy everything.

Seven training dummies stood opposite to me. Two were already destroyed by the flames surrounding me. My vision turned red.

 _"Good for nothing bastard"_ The first dummy looked a hell lot like Vernon.

 _'Ignis sanguinium'_

Burn, I wanted his blood to burn, I want to hear his screams.

 _"Get the freak"_

A dummy that looked like mini Vernon, Dudley. He always liked to punch me.

 _'Telum flaminis' ._

A spear of fire pierced where its heart should have been. I have always wanted to tear his heart out.

" _Why won't you just die freak?"_

Of all my _relatives_ her indifference had caused me the most pain. She shared my mother's blood, My sweet mother who I'll never get to meet.

 _'Perdere sensum"_

A curse to deprive her senses. Its eyes, ears, mouth and skin turned black.

 _"For the greater good, m'boy"_ A bastard who turned my life a hell. Make him feel my wrath, my pain.

 _"crucio"_ the dummy exploded.

 _"Not Harry, Take me instead"_

 _"Move aside silly girl"_

 _"Avada kedavra"_

He destroyed my life; He killed my mom, my dad. He killed and tore apart many families. My vision turned green.

"E _go opus magna ignis" I slashed my wand upward in an arc as I finished the chant. "fiendfyre"_

A huge basilisk erupted from the tip of my wand and burned all seven dummies into ash. It was struggling to escape from my control, But no my anger, my fury, was keeping it in control. I will not be subjugated to force. I let out a colossal cry and fed more power into my wand. The basilisk grew to 100 ft. It raised its head and turned to face me. Its mouth opened to swallow me; I fed more of my power more of my anger into it. It grew again till its head touched the chambers roof; its body filled the chamber. I forced my will upon it as it tried to escape from my control. It was the physical manifestation of my hatred, and like the very thing it was created from it wants to destroy its creator. It is everything I hate, all the negatives of my life. _I will be the master of my life_.

I WILL NOT BREAK. I made a promise.

My will, harder than diamond, crushed its will. The basilisk bowed down to me. Its eyes, a pit of fire, stared deep into mine. I saw people burning inside its eyes. Dursley's, Voldemort, Dumbledore.

I let out a sigh and the Basilisk faded out of existence. My legs grew weak and I collapsed. Before blackness covered my eyes, I heard the distinct sound of glass being broken.

* * *

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that that something was pulsating against my chest and that it wasn't my heart. My shirt was ripped open, and my chest was glowing. Some fine golden colored particles were embedded in my skin, it pulsated as I watched. Time Turner, I realized. It must've broken when I collapsed. What this means, I don't know. But since it didn't do anything other than glittering I decided to ignore it for now.

It was then I realized something.

I felt alive, much more than ever. Oh I was angry, sad but I _felt_ something after a long time, I truly _felt_ them. It was as if someone had removed a weight off my chest. My heart still ached, but it was aching after a long time.

Dark art is like a fire in many aspects; its fuel is your dark emotions. The weak willed are like moths to that flame, it's like a flame on a cold winter night. For the strong willed persons it's a way , a tool, to vent your hate.

After a long time I just had an aggression therapy. I still hate them, but I don't hate the world now.

I took a deep breath. It was time, Time to start a new game.

* * *

"Come in, Harry"

I balled my fists, just hearing his voice is enough to set me off. I wonder what would happened if I had seen him last night. Albus Dumbledore sat in his grand chair and beckoned me over.

"Would you care for a Lemon drop?" he flashed his brilliant white teeth as he offered me a bowl full of his favorite candy. He was getting on my nerves already, and that's something considering that I had just spent the last night trying to calm myself down. Huh, I guess nothing can change the fact that I hate him.

"I know, Dumbledore" I said it as coldly as I could. His smile faltered, the temperature around us dropped at least five degrees.

"I'm afraid I do not know what you are referring to, m'boy," He was playing me again.

"If you want to play, then I can entertain you. But know this, it won't end well for you" My voice could have cut through steel. He frowned; He thinks that I'm speaking about the golem.

"I assure you Harry, I am genuinely sorry for what I did with the golem. But I had to, for the greater good" He said. He genuinely believed what he did was right, and it ticked me off to no end.

" I am not talking about that, I am talking about you trying to control my life, You manipulating me" The cold tone does more effect than shouting, this way he'll know that I am not doing this out of impulse.

"I do not understand what you are saying, Harry" He sighed and peered at me over his glasses. I felt a slight poke at my occlumency barriers, rather than shoving it aside I let it bounce off my shield. He looked astonished for a moment. Then in a flash he had his wand out and was pointing it my heart, he radiated power, but so was I. I had my Basilisk wand out, but it was only half way raised.

"What do you want Tom?" Dumbledore's eyes burned with cold fury, mine burned with righteous anger.

"This is exactly why I won't trust you, Dumbledore, The moment I realized that I was being manipulated you are accusing me of being a Dark lord" I channeled all my anger into my voice.

"Answer me" He ordered.

"I am NOT Tom, You can either choose to believe me or not. I don't care either way"

 _'Legilimens'_ he whispered, but I was prepared. All subtleties were gone; He attacked me with all his strength. I tried to keep him out, but whereas I had the knowledge of a sixteen year old dark lord he had more than a century of experience and skills. I held off his attack for about a minute, my nose started to bleed, vision blurred, and then my shields broke. All of my anger hidden beneath the shields shocked him for a second, using that moment I dragged him to the darkest corners of my mind. My pain, it shall be his too. I won't break, for I have a promise to keep. I kept on reminding myself.

 _"Freak, why won't you just-"_ He withdrew before the first memory.

He knew, he bloody well knew, that's why he withdrew his probe. He knew I was being abused, yet he did nothing. He knew, yet he left me there. Now, without my occlumency shield I couldn't control my anger. My aura flared up. Green flames covered my body, my vision turned green and the pulsating sensation in my chest stopped. Time slowed down around me, Dumbledore was slowly raising his wand back up. In a swift movement I grabbed by him by his robes and pushed my wand into his carotid.

The pulsating sensation returned and everything returned to normal, well normal if you can consider a teenage boy holding the greatest wizard ever at his wand at point blank range was nothing out of ordinary. Dumbledore was looking at me with wide eyes.

"Know this Dumbledore, I want to kill you very much. I hate you and will never forgive you. But I won't kill you. No, no matter how much I want to, I won't kill you. It hurts me to admit it, but people still needs you." I took a deep breath and took a step back.

"Harry?"

"You lost the right to call me that when you left me out in the cold at midnight on _their_ doorstep," I spat. "I despise you Dumbledore, You may have been able to fool me before but you'll never be able to control me ever again. Drop the act, old man" If words could kill he would have been dead by now.

"So, you wish to talk?" He arched an eyebrow. There's the cunning man I wanted to see.

"No, I am going to tell you something's, you are going to sit down and hear them." I sat down on the chair as if I owned the place. My emotional outburst had a purpose. It was part of a plan.

"So," He sat opposite to me. We both had our wand in our hands, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

"You are going to tell the professors that I am eligible to attend the fourth year. You are to stop meddling in my affairs. I know you have plans for me, drop them. I need you and you need me. I will not be going back to the Dursley's, I will need to leave the castle at any time I wishes to." I stated calmly.

"And why do I have to grant these wishes?" He replied in the same tone.

"Because you have no other choice .How will the wizarding world react if they knew how their hero was abused for years? How will they react when they hear that you orchestrated it? How will they react when they hear how you endangered their children when you tried to lure a Dark lord into a trap?" I ignored the indignant shouts of portraits.

"And what proof do you have?" He asked knowing that I had the perfect answer.

"Why do I need proof? If there is one thing press loves more than building up a hero is to tear one down." We held each other's glares waiting for the other to yield.

"This may sound insincere, but it's the truth Harry. I never knew you were abused, I knew you were neglected but –"

"That makes it much more terrible, Dumbledore. But I suppose you would know about neglect, wouldn't you?" I cut him off. I now need to hit him where it hurts. Tom always knew he would eventually have to face Dumbledore, so he had researched about him.

Dumbledore paled visibly. I know his weakness; He tried to break me, now I shall return the favor.

"Arianna" I smirked.

He aged ten years in front of me.

"No" he whispered.

"Do you know what the difference between you and me is, Dumbledore?" I continued without caring for his answer. "You only care about the king; you'll sacrifice pawns without a second thought if it can turn the tide for you side. I won't, I may lose because of it but I'll lose knowing that I haven't failed them. You play to force your enemy to a draw, I play to defeat my enemies. But I won't just defeat them, I'll destroy them. I'll take their pawns, rooks, bishops and then I'll make them think they can win the game. Then, only then, will I take out the queen. And when they comes begging for me to settle for a draw I'll say 'check mate'. So my question is do you really want to play against me? Choose wisely because you'll play hoping to give me a _second chance_ and I'll play to destroy you" I let my aura flare up.

"Do you really mean that Harry?"

"You caused this Dumbledore, when you dumped an innocent child on _their_ doorsteps all those years ago. Know this, I am NOT Tom, but I hate you much more than he does."

"I am sorry Harry, I am so –"

"I won't forgive you Dumbledore. Even by your standards you had far too many second chances .I'll be going now, don't try to stop me." I grabbed some floo powder from a jar near the fireplace.

"You'll be in danger" He protested. I wordlessly transfigured a chair into a roaring lion.

"What happened to you, Harry?"

"You have your secrets and I have mine, till you share yours I shall hide mine as well." I replied before shouting Gringotts and stepped into the flames. I conveniently forgot to tell him that I had compelled the lion to attack him.

* * *

"Hello, Griphook" I said in an overly cheerily voice.

"My name is not Griphook, I am Grapple hook" The goblin at the counter grunted at me.

"Really? Y'all look so alike it's so hard to remember who's who." I mocked the goblin. These bastards have been playing me too. I waited for Tam to laugh at my comment, but then my heart ached remembering what happened.

"You'll pay for that, Wizard" It growled.

"Oh, will I? I am a Potter and the Boy-Who-lived, _Griphook_. Do you want to play little goblin? "I snarled.

It showed me its sharp teeth. Contrary to the rumor there is no act-tough -and- get- respect- shit with Goblins. They hate wizards and we hate them back. It's in their blood and it's not my job to fix that. But I have to show them who's in power here.

"Get me my account manager, _Griphook"_

He returned with an old Goblin. I didn't waste any time.

"Goblin, I don't know what you have been doing for the last twelve years. For your sake I hope it has something to do with the _growth_ of my wealth. I haven't yet received a single letter from Gringotts. I know you hoped that I would be ignorant, that I wouldn't enquire about my wealth so you can take my gold with the help of those dirty nasty treaties. Well, I'll be back here tomorrow and you _will_ tell me everything I need to know or I'll just withdraw my entire fortune from here. One can only guess what'll follow that. I mean, The Boy-Who-Lived, a Potter withdrawing his entire fortune, what will the sheep do?" I smirked.

"Are you threatening the Goblins, Mr. Potter?

"What does it sounds like? Now be a good little goblin and fetch me a hundred galleons from my trust vault."

Ten minutes later I was in Knock turn alley. My aura was flared up, Hags and Vampires shrank back into the shadows seeing my emerald eyes shining with power. Finally after an hour I found the shop I was looking for, Mandel's Tattoos. The name board was covered in fungus.

"Whachoo want?" A gruff voice asked.

I removed my robe and shirt and pointed towards my left shoulder. "A tattoo, like in the picture" I handed him a parchment.

"40 Galleons"

"I didn't ask how much your store's worth" I sneered at him. I couldn't show weakness.

"20 't is"

As he tattooed my shoulder I didn't let out a single word. It was a reminder. A symbol of hope, promises and love.

An hour later I stood in front of Hogs head with a sour left shoulder. A viper with a red crest on its head curled lazily on the skin over my deltoid. "I'll never forget you, Tam" I whispered to myself. A cold wind ruffled my hair. I took a deep breath and stepped into the bar.

I have heard, like many teenagers that fire whiskey was the cure to a broken heart. Let me tell you the truth, it's not. I drank each shot hoping to mend my broken heart but with each shot memories of her grew sharper.

"That's enough, kid" The bar man pried the glass away from me.

"But I only had thr- _hic-_ four shots" I counted with my fingers. "One, three, _hic,_ four. See?"

"Aye, and for a scrawny shit like you that's more than enough" He grabbed me by my shoulders and threw me outside.

"Hey, I'm the _Boy-Who-Just-Won't –hic-Fu-hic-Die"_ I giggled and threw up. A goat licked my face.

 _'It tickles'_ I giggled again.

"Harry, what are yeh doin 'ere?" I looked up and saw the massive form of Hagrid towering over me.

"Hiya, Hagrid. I'm – _hic_ -drunk" I hugged him. "Hagri- _hic-_ lets go kill _-hic-_ some acro- acrama _-hic-_ let's just kill some spiders"

"Alright, come with me Harry." He picked me up and threw me over his shoulders. _'weeeeee'_

"I'LL BE HAVING WORDS WITH YEH ABEFORTH"He shouted and I covered my ears.

"The forest is that way, Hagrid" why was he moving towards his hut?

"I,er, Yeah, I need something. Down, fang!" He opened his hut and fang jumped up to lick my face. Why haven't I never notice that he was beautiful?

"Who's a _-hic-_ good boy fang? Not me! Harry is a bad _-hic-_ bad _-hic-_ boy. But pshhhhhh, don't tell anyone. It's a shecret." I put a finger on my lips and promptly fell asleep with fang as my pillow.

* * *

I woke up with a massive headache.

"Drink this Harry" Hagrid handed me a mug full of potion.

"Okey –dokey" I didn't even ask what it was. As soon as I swallowed it I threw up.

Hagrid shoved a bucket into my arms. "There, Let it all out" Hagrid patted my back and I nearly fell over to my own vomit. "Ahhh" I shook my head to ease my headache.

"Don' worry. It'll go away soon." Hagrid sat dragged his massive chair and sat down opposite to me.

"What happened to ya, Harry?" he asked with concern. Hagrid, he was my first friend.

"I don't know Hagrid. I don't know who I am." I sighed and closed my eyes. Hagrid is a good friend but he's not a person with whom I can discuss my internal struggles. Oh, how wrong I was.

"Ar, Yeh should go to Dumbledore fer that kind of problems, Harry" He tapped his temples.

"Dumbledore is my problem, Hagrid" I sighed and was getting ready to leave. Dumbledore was, after all Hagrid's idol. He could never understand my conflicts.

"So, Yeh know" Hagrid's words stopped me in my tracks.

"What do you mean, Hagrid?" I asked sharply.

He stood and walked over to the fireplace, His shadow covered most of the room.

"I'm a simple man, Harry. I dunno much abou' magic, politics and women," He snorted. He poked the fire and continued. "But I know abou' people Harry. I know 'em muggles were horrible ter yeh. If I knew, Dumbledore definitely knew. I mean dumb oaf Hagrid can' be better than wizards now, can he?"

I stood dumbfounded. I saw what I wanted to saw, I never knew the real Hagrid.

"Have a cake, Harry," he handed me a piece of his home made cake. "Yeh know me dad died when I was in Azkaban, nasty place that is. He wanted me ter be a good wizard. It broke his heart, Poor bloke died when I was in ter. Still hurts me heart every night."

"Hagrid, I never knew-"

"Nah, Don't worry abou' it Harry, can' do anythin' about it." He waved it off.

"Ar, where was I ? Um, er, Yea, see when I was released I don' want ter live any more. Dumbledore saved me; He gave me a home, a job. I'm happy now. I know Dumbledore ain't perfect. He ain't what people thinks ter be. I know people Harry, 'cause I know animals. Yeh can see it in ter eyes,"

He started eating his cake. "Neve' seen eyes like his before. But I'll give ma life fer him, 'cause I owe it to him"

I was wrong, I was so wrong. Nobody is shallow. Ten different mirrors show your ten different faces.

"So, what's yer problem Harry?"

"I dunno, Hagrid. I don't know who I am anymore" I took a bite, surprisingly it was edible.

"So yeh knew who yeh were before?" He's a simple man, alright.

"I think so, yeah" I decided to be honest.

"And do yeh want to go back ter what yeh were? He asked.

"No" I couldn't believe I was having this conversation with Hagrid.

"There yeh go then. Yeh want ter be a new man. When I was ter in Azkaban I saw bad things Harry. It, er, changed me. Now I can' go back ter what I was befo'." He shuffled close to the fireplace; he was shivering in the middle of summer.

"I lost someone, Hagrid. Someone close to me, someone who knew the real me for the first time." If you had told me I would be having this conversation with Hagrid an hour ago I would have laughed at the idea. But now, I just decided to go with the flow.

"Never had someone like tha' fer me Harry, not after me dad, so dunno anything abou't it." He apologized.

"You got me now, don't you?" I was answered by his trademark bone crushing hug.

He blew his nose with his huge hand kerchief.

"Yer a good person Harry, don' believe anythin' else. "

I smiled. We talked about other subjects for a while. When I left his hut I felt better. I had finally completed my transformation. I knew what I had to do.

At first I was a gullible Gryffindor, and then with Tom's memories I awoke my inner Slytherin. I was broken before Tamsyln, now I am normal. Well as normal as it can be for me. I have my faults. Deep within my heart hides a dark being filled with pain, regrets and hatred. It is a part of me, and I shall unleash him upon my enemies.

I can play the same game that both Dumbledore and Voldemort play. But I am not experienced enough; sooner or later I'll fall. And my friends and allies will have to pay the price along with me. That is why I have to get stronger. I don't know all the players; I don't have all the relevant facts. But fortunately they don't have all the facts either. We all have bits and pieces, but not the whole picture. Information is the first step in waging a war. As I walked towards the castle a grand plan began to form in my mind. Who am I? I don't know. But I don't think there is a single person in this world who knows who they are. But I do know who I want to be and that's all that matters.

I know now what to do and how to do it. But now I need to have a talk with Dumbledore again.

* * *

"Come in, Mr. Potter" Dumbledore was reading some muggle magazine.

I had a nagging feeling that this conversation was going to give me a headache. Note how he called me by my last name.

"Let's get down to it, Dumbledore" I sat down and pulled my wand out.

The emotional outburst I had yesterday was not something I had done on the spot. Everything I said was true, but it was part of my plan. Sort of like behavior modification. Push him away as far as you can without alienating him, and then give him hope. He'll want to right his wrongs, so he won't risk trying to manipulate me in the near future so as to get on my good side. I gave him the stick yesterday and today I am going to give him the carrot, my allegiance. Of course, he won't stop meddling, but it'll be subtle. I am playing a dangerous game; I am going to bargain my allegiance for information. He won't backstab me; it's not in his nature. But since he went to great length to make me malleable I am assuming that he has a grand plan revolving around me. I need to know why.

"Why do you want to control me?" I asked calmly as if I was enquiring about the weather.

"I don't, I just wanted to prepare you" A lie. But it's a start.

"Prepare me for what?"

"I hoped that this day would never come. " He let out a sigh. "There is a Prophesy Harry. A prophesy about you and Voldemort."

He talked about how a Seer made a prophesy about me and Voldemort and how Voldemort only got a part of it. He talked about why my parents were murdered, how they were betrayed by their friend Sirius Black. He talked about the _power he knows not_. Love, I was supposed to defeat Voldemort with love. What a load of _shite_. How I grew up to become the wonderful man I am today. He talked and talked. I did not say a single thing. When he stopped his crap I stood up.

"I know you are hiding something, but I won't ask what it is. I hope you'll tell me when the time comes. " I half asked, half stated.

"I will, m'boy, I will". I know what he is hiding. Horcrux. He knows that I am one. He thinks I need to die before Voldemort can die.

"My demands still stand. I'll be down in the chamber of secrets for the rest of the summer. If you wish to speak to me sent a patronus. I assure you that I do not need any assistance." I forced his hand.

"If that's what you want then I shall oblige you." He yielded.

* * *

I was looking out of my window in my bedroom. The whole chamber was situated under the lake. My window showed the underwater scenes of the lake. I was thinking about what I had just learned. It changed nothing really; I always knew it'll be me or him in the end. Now I know why he tried to kill me in the first place. What troubles me is the fact that I have now two enemies. Dumbledore who will make sure that I die along with Voldemort and Voldemort who'll kill me at the first chance he'll get. For the first time I have the upper hand. I have facts that neither have.

The prophesy troubles me. Has it already been fulfilled? I mean I have already vanquished the bit of him inside me. It didn't matter either way. He'll come for me till he's dead. What is _the power he knows not_?

I closed my eyes and began building my occlumency shields. They were torn to shreds by Dumbledore. As I was organizing my memories I noticed something. I noticed that time really did slow down when I was confronting Dumbledore. My vision really did turn green and red. I was so emotionally charged up at that time that I never really gave them any thought. _'Duh, idiot'_ I can almost hear Tam scoffing at me. I felt a sudden pang in my heart. Tam. I took a deep breath. She wouldn't want me to wallow in misery.

I have to get stronger.

I took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on the pulsating sensation that's almost a part of me by now. Nothing. I tried to channel my desperation and anger, Nothing happened. I tried and tried for about an hour before giving it up. May be it comes out when I really need it. I'll need to research about it. But there is something I always wanted to try, Animagus.

To become an animagus you need to confront your inner animal. It's a manifestation of your personality. You need to be at peace with yourself before you confront your animal or it'll take over you. That's the reason why people take so much time before they can become an animagus. But me, I'm a freak of magic. I think I am at peace with myself. There are no secret potions or short cuts to this. Magic is all about balance. You have to work to earn anything. The more you trials you have passed the greater will be the reward. I have faced enough trials, I think. I drew a circle on the ground with my wand to focus my magic. After disrobing I sat crossed legged on the cold marble floor inside the circle butt naked.

I closed my eyes and sent a probe deep into my mind, searching for my inner animal.

Nop

Nada

Nyet

Non

Nothing.

Huh, guess I need to practice, eh?

* * *

"Hiya, Griphook"

This time it really was Griphook. _'Pity, I was really starting to enjoy this game.'_

"Mr. Potter" He growled. Huh, he must have heard what happened yesterday.

"How are the kids? Is Mrs. Griphook doing alright?" I asked in an overly cheerily voice.

"Wh-What?" He was flabbergasted. "See ya, dude. Have some business to do" I tried an American accent and failed horribly.

Two minutes after and five angry goblins later I was sitting in front of my account manager.

"What are you doing?" He snarled.

"You guys acted like jerks toward me for the last thirteen years. Now I'm just returning the favor." I replied seriously. They were counting on my lack of knowledge to steal from me. How much had they stolen already, I don't know. I know that I can't do anything about what they had already taken. Whatever faults these bastards have no one can deny the fact that they are brilliant at what they do. What they had done won't be against the law. These buggers have a nasty way of finding out loopholes in law.

As I read my account details my eyes grew wide. Sweet Morgana, I was rich. These bastards have taken about half a million galleons from me yet it did not even make a dent. I had three vaults. A family vault which I can't enter before reaching seventeen. Another vault which can be opened when I'm fourteen and a trust vault which contains half a million galleons. The interest alone covered the theft.

"I know everything. Don't fuck with me." I said and left without another word.

It was time for shopping. I was planning on staying in the chamber for rest of the summer. I have to buy all the fourth year materials. Luckily with Tom's knowledge I don't need to have the letter to know what to buy. I decided to buy extra potion ingredients; I just can't wait to see Snape. He won't know what hit him. I bought an entire wardrobe. I didn't waste time in trying out each and everything. I just picked up those I liked. When I walked past the pet shop I stopped in my track.

"Shit" I was horror struck for a moment. I had forgotten about Hedwig. That's a confrontation I know I can't win. I walked in and bought the most expensive owl treat. Bribery, it never failed with her in the past.

* * *

"Bloody hell" I swore as I dipped my hands in the murtlap essence. Ever left an owl alone for a year and tried to console her with some owl treat? Let me give you an advice, DON'T DO IT. I, slayer of a mighty basilisk, was defeated by an owl.

"Hoot" Hedwig replied as she ate my bribe.

"I told you, it's not my fault. If you want to take out that anger on someone, try Dumbledore."

"Hoot"

"You already did? Good girl. I'll get you a new perch"

"Hoot"

"No, I'm not getting you a golden perch"

"Hoot" Can owls even give puppy dog eyes?

"Fine, only because I love you"

She flew over towards me, landed on my shoulders and nibbled my ears.

"Hoot"

"I know dear, I know," I sighed. "There was someone I very much wanted you to meet. You would have loved her"

"Hoot?"

"Her name was Tamsyln." And I began recounting our story to Hedwig. When I finished I realized I started crying somewhere along the story.

"Hoot" Hedwig ruffled my hair with her wing.

"Hey, Hedwig .You aren't an animagus, are you?"

I was replied by a smack on my head. I chuckled. "I thought so"

I walked toward the slytherin's personal library with Hedwig perched on my shoulders. I wanted to research about what happened to the Time Turner.

* * *

I left the chamber only once after that shopping trip. It was on my birthday. Dumbledore hadn't made a single request to meet me. Either he was dead or was planning something big. I hoped it was the former. But for me birth day wished never comes true. Ron had sent me an invitation to World cup , Hermione gave me a book on Quidditch along with letter apologizing for misplacing my invisibility cloak . Ginny sent me a get well soon card and some chocolate frogs. Twins had sent me a toilet seat. I replied them all politely. Not too friendly but not too formally either. I want to _know_ them. I had plans for every single scenario possible. I can't have unknown factors interfering with them. I'll need friends. I'll need allies. More importantly I need to be able to classify them into these categories. I was not going to trust anyone blindly anymore.

"Hello, Professor Abbyt"

"Hello, Mr. Potter"

Amycus Abbyt was the head master of Hogwarts during late sixteenth century. He had a frame near Myrtle's bathroom which was where we were having this conversation. It's quite easy to gain information from portraits. The problem was that once they had revealed something they were not supposed to they'll self destruct. A compulsion charm was all that it took. Honestly who's going to miss a pervert head master who was murdered by the Head Girl for, er, trust me you don't want to know.

Tri-Wizard tournament was going to be conducted at Hogwarts this year. That was all I could get before he self destructed. It was perfect for my plans. Wizards are sheep. They follow their master, one who has power, connections and money.

I had power. They just don't know it yet. I don't have connections. This Tournament was the perfect opportunity for me. I was going to enter the tournament."Happy birth day, Harry" I smiled to myself.

* * *

Before I know it was august thirty first. I trained and trained. I trained my animagus transformation, new spells. Every day I spent about fourteen hours training, preparing for the inevitable war. I trained for the tournament. Rest of my time was spent on researching about the Time Turner, tournament, and making sure that my plan was fool proof. The only problem was that I haven't made a single progress with my Time slowing thing. Surprisingly Dumbledore had kept his distance, He was planning something. There was something about death eater attack on the world cup on the paper. It confirmed my suspicions. Something was happening. Voldemort was gaining power. This year is going to be filled something beyond the normal craziness.

"It all starts tomorrow, Girl. You ready?"

"Hoot"

"What does that mean?"

I was pretty sure that tonight will be the last night I can sleep peacefully. The game begins tomorrow.

* * *

A/N: So what do you guys think? This is how Harry will be; I developed his character to the best of my abilities. What do you guys think Harry's animagus form is?

I am portraying Hagrid in a different light. Yes, he's a simple man. But from my own experience, No one is shallow. Everyone has that side that people tends not to see. About Harry's training, it's a surprise. It'll come up later in the story. Can't tell you everything now, can I?

Till now I was developing the characters mainly. So you guys can have a better understanding of their action. From now on the story will be filled with twists and action. I have some crazy ideas. I cleaned up all the chapters once again. I tried my best at fixing all errors. PM me if you find any errors that needs to be fixed.

Next chapter: School begins, action starts.

P.S Review.


	6. Tri-Wizard Tournament

Tri-Wizard Tournament

"Be it so: who knows for sure

The lonely lore of youth's universe?

Scandals fatigue even the eloquent.

Is it not a sin, then

To slander the mute?"

-The fallen flower, Kumaranasan

* * *

I watched students rushing into the great hall. They were all looking around, whispering, and apparently searching for someone. Me. I was under a powerful notice- me-not charm. Even professors were looking for me. Dumbledore's eyes swept the great hall once and looked straight at me. I just shrugged and he nodded at me. I was observing. I walked around the hall once. Pausing at each table, my calculating and sharp mind picked up things. Having the ability to read body language was a useful skill. Apparently most of the girls were attracted to Diggory who I think won Hufflepuff the last year's Quidditch cup. Malfoy and his cronies had power within slytherin; it was obvious by the way he sat. But the person who got my attention was Theodore Nott. Even though he sat near Malfoy it was not as near as he should have sat. Malfoys and Notts were allies for centuries. But I'm sensing some friction between these two. Theodore's feet were pointing away from Malfoy showing obvious contempt. Theodore's uncle was an alleged Death eater. Before I could move away from the table I saw two witches glaring at Pansy Parkinson. Obviously about something trivial, but the way they glared at her meant there was much to that story. Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davies. I sighed. They were too unreliable. One was too cold and other was too brash. It'll take much too effort to sway them to my side.

Over the Hufflepuff table Susan Bones, Ernie McMillan and Cedric Diggory caught my attention. The first two had enormous political power and were absolute idiots. They turned their back on me along with the rest of the school calling me Heir of Slytherin. I can't hold it over them forever. But I'll never forget about it. I filed them immediately into the allies' category. They'll come to me asking for my forgiveness. It was apparent from the tensed posture of their body. Cedric Diggory is a potential friend. Academically brilliant, hard worker and a good person. He was a pure blood too which means that he'll be get a good position at the ministry after graduation.

Ravenclaw Table didn't even get my attention except for Terry Boot. He had a unique way of inventing spells. I have seen some of his work during second year. He actually made a spell that would alert people if Mrs. Norris was in the vicinity. It was pretty impressive for a second year.

Finally I made my way to the Gryffindor Table. Most of them were spineless cowards. All of my Quidditch team mates were instantly put in the category allies. There was Cormac Mclaggen, a big mouth, with a lot of connections. I'll need to observe him.

I leaned against a wall and barely paid attention to the sorting ceremony. After the sorting ceremony before Dumbledore could speak I decided to drop the charm.

"HARRY" A loud shout from Hermione got everyone's attention. I initially planned to do this in an elegant way. You know, the pure blood style. But then I thought better of it. This was a school full of teenagers. No matter how much they don't want to accept it, the devil may care attitude of mine was the perfect way to sway them to my side.

Instead of greeting Hermione I raised a hand and waved it lazily at everyone.

"Don't look so surprised. I'm back, I'm changed. That's all you need to know." I said lazily and walked out of the hall. I projected my aura slightly and the emerald flames gave me a bad boy look.

Good gods I was a drama queen. But it served its purpose. I just threw everyone off their track in under ten seconds. The Harry potter they knew would never do something like that. Even malfoy would think twice about before taunting me. I just changed their perspective of Harry potter. Now I'll need to build up a new one. It was ironic. Three years ago I nearly wetted my pants seeing people whispering about my supposed potential. Now I just started them once again.

I knew Dumbledore will be revealing about Triwizard Tournament so I had planted a two way mirror in the great hall. I hurried into my dorm and activated it.

"…To all the new students, welcome! And to everyone who returned, welcome back! I have a number of important announcements to make but for now I have only two words, tuck in!" Dumbledore said and sat down as food appeared in front of them. I saw students eagerly digging into their food. I simply ordered one of the elves from the Chamber to bring me a tray. As I finished my plate Dumbledore got up again smiling broadly and the whole hall went silent

"First, let me introduce our newest Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Alastor Moody" Dumbledore said, gesturing at a scarred man sitting beside him. The applause that rang out was very subdued and Moody neither stood up nor acknowledged it. I watched as he took a swig from a flask in front of him. Dumbledore then proceeded on with his usual crap and selling his lovely mad hatter personality. Then he paused. 'Here we go 'I thought to myself

"This year will be very different from all of the past years of Hogwarts. This is the first time in 150 years that this event will be taking place in Hogwarts. First, I am extremely sorry to tell you that all Quidditch matches this year are cancelled" He paused as an angry outbreak of muttering broke out and I saw my old team who looked scandalized. It's no surprise really. There will be too much action, No body will be having any time for Quiditch. Dumbledore raised his hand and almost immediately the mutterings ceased and the Hall was quiet once more. "However, it is my greatest pleasure to say that this year, years after the final tournament, Hogwarts will be hosting the first Triwizard tournament" The effect was instantaneous; a loud roar rang through my mirror.

"You have GOT to be joking" I heard the Weasley twins shouting.

"No, I assure you I am not joking Mr. Weasley" He said his eyes twinkling in a direction which I guessed were directed at the twins.

"The original Triwizard tournament consist of three challenges that a selected student from each of the competing schools must complete. The winner will have eternal glory and a thousand galleons prize money and bring great honor to his or her school. The tournament has been carefully organized as a joint effort for improving international magical relations and you can be assured that a lot of changes have been made to improve the tournament in order to avoid the tragedy that occurred during the last one, where all of the champions were killed"

I knew all of this already.

"But this time we have decided to change something other than challenges. There will be _two_ champions from each school who'll be working together as a team. Instead of the usual three tasks this time there will be seven tasks. An impartial judge will be selecting the champions," He paused. This was perfect for my plans, I mean abso-bloody-lutely perfect. I decided then there that I need to make my own evil laugh.

"Thank you, now as I was saying, since Hogwarts is hosting the tournament, delegations from, the magical academy Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, the institute of magic will be arriving here at on Friday afternoon. You are excused from all classes in the afternoon to welcome the new students. They will be joining classes with us and live with us for the whole year as they will stay to cheer on their chosen champions. I hope you will treat each other with respect and look to forward to forming new friends."

I commanded my mirrors to self destruct. It will not do well for anyone to know of their existence. Two champions, it worked well for me. Had I been named as the sole champion the upper years would have turned their back on me in spite. But it was too perfect. Almost as if Dumbledore expects me to enter. Well of course he does, he wants to know my limits. But why is he making this so easy?

I was broken out of my thoughts by a loud "MATE"

"Hello, Ron" Ronald Weasly is ruled by his inferiority complex. He was always under the shadows of his brothers. He hoped that by gaining me as his friend will get him out of that shadow. In a way it did but he soon fell under mine. And my shadow will grow bigger as I grow. And he'll resent me for that. I can't do anything about that. He's lazy and immature. But so are a lot of people. If I push him away he'll grow bitter. Why make an enemy when you can simply make a follower? He definitely didn't have any part in manipulating me. Because quite frankly he doesn't have the brains for it. Dumbledore used him. But mama Weasly definitely knew I was being played. Why should I punish him? What he need are friends with whom he doesn't need to shy away. Dean would be the practical choice. But he's so hung up on basking in my fame that he can't see it. I'll need to slowly push him away. Because honestly he isn't that good a friend anyway.

"Why didn't you stay? Weren't you hungry?" Typical Ron.

"Honestly Ron! How can you be so thick? He's back from a coma and the first thing you ask is that?" Hermione was right behind him.

"Nobody asked your opinion." Ron shouted. Wow that must have been one hell of a fall out.

"LISTEN!" I shouted and the entire common hall went silent. Phase one begins now. Everybody's eyes were on me. I let loose of my aura. My sweet magic flared around me and a first year hid behind a sofa. _'if only I had an evil laugh I would've scared the pants off them'_

"I am not the same person I was, like I said I am a changed man. If you think you can order me around or control me you are wrong. I was in a fucking coma for an year because I had to kill a basilisk to save your royal asses. I shit you not; fucking thing was sixty ft long. I did not see any of you down in the chamber when I was down there. So if you think you have the right to call me a dark lord I will personally end you. If I see any of you sprouting lies about me I'll make sure that you'll pay for that" I stated calmly. Colin's camera flashed as it fell from his hand. The first year behind the sofa fainted.

"That being said, since I'm a good guy I'll answer your questions for the next fifteen minutes"

It took almost a minute before Hermione asked the first question. "What happened to you, Harry?

"I was forced to grow up" I answered in a tone that made it clear that I was not going to elaborate.

"Err, Ha-Harry, Will you be a third year?" Colin asked nervously.

"No, I cleared it with Dumbledore"

"You mean you cheated" Someone stupid shouted. Seventh year if I'm not mistaken.

"Well, that concludes our talk " I sighed and they started shouting things. " _Expecto patronum"_ A gigantic sliver viper erupted from my wand tip and curled around me. _'Tam'_ I _felt_ her again for a moment. The common hall went quiet in a second.

"Cheerios" I wiggled my fingers and walked back into my dorm. When my dorm mates came in I was already fast asleep.

* * *

"H-Harry, Wake U-Up" Neville was poking me in my ribs. He looked as if he was ready to bolt at a moment's notice.

"I won't bite, Neville" I said as I pulled my robes on. Being a wizard is so cool. A freshening charm and a mouth cleaning charm was all that it took to get ready. Together we walked towards the great hall for breakfast.

"So, how's your hobby going? Got any new plants?" I asked remembering his fascination with herbology. He smiled and talked on and on about the new fascinating plants he had seen during his trip to amazons. I was hooked too. I mean a plant which eats only your intestine and spits the rest out, how cool was that?

"Here's your Time table, Mr. Potter" Ouch. Professor kitty is mad. "I don't know how you convinced Professor Dumbledore you were eligible to attend the fourth year classes, but I assure you that if you are not adequate I'll not permit you to attend my class". Oh, that's why. She is in for a surprise.

"Of course, professor" I said politely, I needed to be on her good side.

Neville groaned and I turned to face him. " Transfiguration and double potions" He whined.

"How was he last year? "

"Bad, Something to do with me and Professor Lupin"

"Care to elaborate buddy?"

"Oh, sorry," He looked at me and I gestured him to go on. "Professor Lupin was the last year's DADA teacher. Best one ever. I kinda had a problem with my Boggart. Mine, er, turned into Snape," he looked at me waiting for me to laugh at him. I just motioned him to walk with me towards the transfiguration class room.

"Um, yeah so I made it look funny in order to banish it and now Snape hates me as much as he hates you."

"Ouch" I winced.

"Yeah, Ouch. Anyway he thought that Lupin deliberately did that to make him look bad. So he let out that Lupin was a werewolf"

"Holy Shit, What the hell was Dumbledore thinking?"

"It wasn't bad though. He really was a great teacher" Neville defended Lupin.

"No, no. I meant Snape. Why did he let it happen?"

We sat down near the front. Neville just shrugged.

"Well that settles it."

"What settles what, Harry?" Neville asked curiously.

"We are going to avenge You" I declared.

"You have really changed, Harry. You got a kind of bad boy charisma now." He said.

"Neville, never say things like that to me again. Seriously, never. I don't swing that way." His jaw dropped and we both started laughing simultaneously. I saw Hermione looking at me as if she wants to say something. I'll talk to her after the class.

McGonagall walked in and started the class right away. She was going on animal to animal transfiguration. We were supposed to transfigure a mouse into a cat. It was difficult for a fourth year, it comes up much later in the year. The very nature of these two animals will oppose the transfiguration. She was testing me. I pulled out my basilisk wand and Placed my mouse on the floor. If I want I can Conjure a Cat. With Riddle's memories I don't even need to take any classes anymore. I'm just attending them for other purposes. I placed my mouse on the ground. People were looking at me now. Hermione's cat let out a mew. But McGonagall had her undivided attention on me. I smirked and slashed my wand. According to her I should have made an Elotion's triangle. She opened her mouth to correct me but not a single word came out. Instead of a mouse a royal Bengal tiger stood in its place. To top it all I had done it non verbally. It let out a huge roar and Hermione's cat scrambled out of the room.

"Technically it's a cat, Professor" I smirked.

"Ye-Yes, I suppose it is. Fifty points to Gryffindor." Sheep your alpha is here. I nodded politely and the tiger was made a rat again.

* * *

"Harry?" I turned and was met with a much healthier looking Hermione outside the class room.

"Hello, Hermione"

"Can I talk to you?" she asked in a small voice.

"I said I am a new person but that does not mean I am not your friend. Just remember that I'm not the old harry and we'll be fine. " I opened the class room door for her as we entered.

She didn't have a chance to reply as Snape chose that moment to enter the class. I looked around and saw that Nott was sitting alone. I sat beside him. He looked surprised but acknowledged me by nodding. I was surprised actually. He was already on the edge. I didn't try any small talk because it was too soon.

"And our sleeping beauty is back" Snape drawled. Most of the Slytherins laughed and I noticed that Nott wasn't among them. I merely nodded in reply. I had a plan for Snape as well. I know Snape was a death eater who was allegedly a spy for Dumbledore. It was all in the Daily prophet fourteen years ago. Slytherin had linked his personal library with Hogwarts library, so it updated along with the Hogwarts library. I hate this bastard. But he's a necessary evil. Besides he saved my life once before.

"Potter, what is the main ingredient in bicorn potion?" He sneered thinking that I'll fall for the obvious.

"Acromantula hair" I replied without a pause.

"Why do we need moon stone in preparing wolfs bane potion?" That was a sixth year question.

"To counter the acidic nature of mermaid tears" He looked stunned but continued. I was reminded of my first ever potion class.

"What is the main ingredient of felix felicis and when is it added?"

"Two drops of dragon blood , added during the first lunar eclipse during its cooling down phase which takes up to six months or more depending upon the quality of salamander eyes added, _sir_ " I snarled out the last part as I felt a legilimency probe bouncing off my shields. He looked at me with wide eyes and turned to Ron who was watching the entire scene with an open mouth. "Ten points from Gryffindor for lack of proper respect, Weasly"

"I-What?" he was baffled.

"Another ten for questioning a teacher"

"But I didn't say anything"

"Detention, Weasly" Ron's shoulders dropped but he kept quiet. He knew he was targeted because Snape thought he was my best friend.

Snape didn't even look at me during the class again. Malfoy was looking at me with all the hatred he could muster. Poor bastard, He doesn't even know what he's facing. I felt pity for him. I was leagues ahead of him. I have a personal issue with malfoys. I know it was Lucius who gave Ginny the diary. And he hoped that at least one muggle born would be killed by it. His weakness was Draco. The same Draco who have been bugging me for all these years. I felt pity for him because I know what I had planned for him.

"You are good at potions" Nott stated.

"I'll give you some pointers." I offered.

"In return for?" Ah. Slytherin. He knows that I'm up to something.

"Tournament. I know you have an interest in potions. I'll be entering and I'll need your help with some potions."

"Why can't you brew them yourself?" He asked.

"I'll be busy"

"I'll need time to think" He replied seriously. He didn't even ask why I was so sure that I will be a champion. A real slytherin knows what to ask and what not to ask. "Of course. "

I was smirking as I was leaving the dungeons. Phase one was moving smoothly. I even gave a friendly wave to Filch who turned around to see if there was anyone behind him.

I was suddenly grabbed by someone into a dark passageway and something hit me on my head hard .I blacked out.

* * *

A/N: A cliff hanger. I have always wanted to do one. So what you guys think? Too fast? Too slow? Typical?

I was fed up with the Ron bashings. I'll probably be bashing him. But it'll be much later. I hope I'm not doing the usual cliché. I want this to be something different. I am not going to do the Neville-My-New-Best-Friend thing

I'll be posting the next chapter tomorrow, I hope.

Coming up next: Malfoy, Moody and mama mia, is that fleur? Yes it is.

P.S . Review Guys.


	7. That's How You Show Off

Disclaimer: No matter how much I want to, I don't own H.P

Chapter 8

That's How You Show Off

* * *

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever

Its loveliness increases; it will never

Pass into nothingness…

-Endymion/ Keats

* * *

 _I was suddenly grabbed by someone into a dark passageway and something hit me on my head hard .I blacked out._

* * *

I groaned as I tried to stand up. I saw two identical faces smiling at me apologetically. Either I was seeing double or I have just been woken up by the weasly twins.

"Hello, Harry- "

"We're really-"

"Sorry for-"

"What happened. It was –"

"All his-

"Fault" They said at the same time pointing at each other.

"Guys, Stop with the twin talk. Not now" I had my wand in one hand and was clutching my head with the other.

"Er, okay. We wanted to talk with you." Twin#1 began.

"Alone, That is. Wants to show us our gratitude for saving our sister" Twin#2 added.

"So you decided to knock me out?" I asked failing to see the logic.

"It wasn't supposed to be like that. I casted a grabbing charm on you and he added a cushioning charm. We didn't know that it would have that effect when combined." Twin #2 said.

"Right" I said. That still didn't make up for the splitting pain I had. But their body language made it clear that they were telling the truth.

"Come on, Harry. After the show you put on last night, which was fantastic by the way, do you think we would attack you?" A quick passive legilimency scan showed it was Fred.

"Alright" Twins were a force to be reckoned with. Even with Riddle's skills I have no idea how they pulled off more than half of their pranks. They just didn't know their potential. I was going to show them that.

"So dear Harry, as a sign of our gratitude for saving our sister we give you our greatest treasure,"

" A legacy from a forgotten time,"

"A master piece,"

"We present thee with," They paused dramatically. It was impressive if the truth was to be told.

"The Marauders Map." They said simultaneously and George pulled out an old parchment with a flourish. He kneeled in front of me and offered the parchment as if he were a knight.

I felt a tinge of magic from that paper. I placed my wand on the parchment and gave the parchment pulse of magic. Instantly I felt it push me back.

"Wow, For a piece of parchment it's well protected. It's connected to the castle somehow, isn't it?"

There was no way this old parchment could survive this long unless it drew its energy from the castle. They just looked at each other and kneeled in front of me simultaneously.

"Oh, great one. Take us as your minions."

"Rise my faithful minions and enlighten your master about this wonderful map" I mock commanded them.

They grinned evilly and showed me how to operate the map. It was amazing. I didn't know who created this map exactly. Whoever these four pranksters were ,they were pure geniuses. They had somehow keyed the parchment to Hogwarts wards. If I can just tweak it I will be able to monitor the wards too.

"Thanks guys" I was really overwhelmed. It must have meant a lot to them.

"No, Harry. Thank you. We can never thank you enough. You lost an year of your life because you tried to save our family. If you hadn't, Ginny would be…" I have never seen twins emotional before.

"Don't mention it, guys. Now get out of here. This is getting too emotional. Look at you guys crying like Ron" I tried to lighten up the mood.

"Sir, Yes, sir" They saluted and ran out of the passageways. I now had two people with whom I can trust my life with.

In the following week Hogwarts rumor mill worked furiously. Every class I attended ended with the professors with open mouths. Runes and Arithmency were as easy as pie. Charms ended with a dumbstruck Flitwick. I didn't hold back even a little bit. But I didn't let them know my true potential either. I had Riddle's knowledge. But I knew that I was no match for Voldemort. If he had that much knowledge when he was sixteen how much does he know now? So I studied as much as I could. I need the professors to teach me advance material. Well beyond N.E.W.T curriculum. Hermione took it hard. She was so used to being first. She couldn't understand how I became a protégé so fast. But for the sake of our friendship she kept quiet. She told me that she found it tough but was glad that I had finally unlocked my potential. She was slowly earning my trust back. In fact the only problem I currently had was the girls following me. They followed me in groups between the periods and giggled whenever I looked at them. I heard snippets of conversations about how Harry Potter was no longer holding back in classes. I even over heard a second telling a first year how I had conjured a dragon that ate Filch's cat. I just smiled and kept going. The class I was looking forward to was DADA.

* * *

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE"

I jumped and pointed my wand toward the source. My wand pointing towards thesource of the sound and my body was crouched low. It was dueling stance which was used when the enemy's position was unknown.

"All of you are dead except Potter. Take two points for Gryffindor" Moody shouted as he limped from his office to the blackboard. His fake eye was focused on Seamus who was picking his wand up from the floor.

"Always be prepared. Your enemy doesn't care whether you are prepared or not. He'll try to kill you at the first chance he gets. You lot are worth nothing without your wand. So no matter what happens, NEVER put your wands away. That's lesson one." He turned and pointed his wand towards the black board where words were forming. It read" NO WAND=DEAD"

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE" Moody roared making everyone jump. I liked his style. It was ruthless and to the point.

"My name is Moody. I'll be teaching You DADA for this year. Introductions part is over and let's get on with the Class"

For the next hour he discussed about Unforgivable curses. I kept quiet. I know much more than anybody at Hogwarts right now about them. And then Moody Surprised everyone by saying that he was going to put us all under imperius. ' _Shite'_ He was looking right at me when he said that.

"What would you do if a witch or wizard casts it on you? Would you rather face it unprepared or do you want to see for yourself if you can stand a chance against it? It is not impossible to break free of it although it is wiser to avoid being hit with it if you can. A witch or wizard with a strong mental capabilities can break free of it, let's see how far along you lot are. Now, Miss Patil, forward if you please."

What surprised me really was that these idiots didn't so as much as protest against it. Who in the right mind would willingly submit to that curse? I know I can break through it easily. You have to be the master of your mind. It has nothing to do with occlumency. Rather it was all about will power. I can control fiendfyre. This is nothing compared to that.

Hermione sang the Hogwarts anthem while tap dancing, Ron imitated a chicken, Neville performed a series of complex gymnastics, and Seamus conjured a bunch of roses and knelt on one knee and proposed to a bright red Lavender Brown and so on.

I could have sworn I saw Moody smirking, he was enjoying this and...to be honest, I would be lying to myself if said I wasn't enjoying the show. Finally it was my turn. I went to the front of the middle and waited. Moody pointed his wand at me.

" _Imperio"_

I was surprised. I thought being the hard core auror he was he would have put all of his effort into the curse. But it was really weak. He wanted us all to break it. He really was trying to teach us.

 _"Jump onto the desk"_ I felt his will trying to crush mine.

I will not break.

" _Jump onto the desk now!"_

"I don't think so, sir" I smirked and went back to my seat. Moody looked at me with open mouth and started laughing. The rest of the class was looking back and forth between me and Moody.

"Ten points to Gryffindor, Potter" He barked out and dismissed the class.

"How did you do it, Harry?" Hermione asked me curiously as Ron waved at me to join him. I gestured him to go along with Dean.

"It's all about mastering your will. He wants to control you. You must be able to break his will to control you. "I replied. People were moving towards the entrance hall. "You go on, Hermione. I'll need to speak with someone." I saw McGonagall motioning me to follow her into her class room. She motioned me to get in as she entered her private office.

As I walked in I saw Cedric sitting there.

"Hello, Harry" He offered me his hand

"Hi, Cedric" I replied as I shook it. "Heard you won the cup last year"

"Yeah, it wasn't exactly a competition. I am not boasting but the rest of the seekers were not so good. I really hoped that we would have gotten a chance to play off against each other this year. "

"You are graduating this year, aren't you?"

"Yeah. So, do you know why we are here?" He asked. I didn't have to answer as McGonagall chose that moment to come back.

"Good After noon, Professor"

"Good after noon. You must be wondering why you are here?"

"Yes, professor" Cedric replied for both of us.

"As you know, the delegations from Beauxbaton and Durmstrang will be arriving approximately in one hour. I just heard from them that they are going to perform some magical feat as a gesture of gratitude for welcoming them. In other words they are going to show off. But our head master is insisting that we don't need to worry about it," She paused. " If anyone ever asks me about this I shall deny that I ever said this. I can't allow Hogwarts to look bad."

Wow. Minnie would make a perfect M.

"What are you saying, Professor?" I asked.

"I'm not saying anything, Mr. Potter. But I just had a thought, you see. What if two of the brightest students of Hogwarts retaliate in kind? I mean the professors can't do anything against it as it is not against the rules. I'm sure that even Professor Snape thinks so. "She mused. Wow Professor Kitty is cool.

Cedric was gob smacked.

"Say, professor. Will these students be rewarded for their work?" I asked as if I was not interested.

"Hypothetically speaking, they would be getting a mentor if either of them gets selected as a champion, " She pause. "Of course, to pull such a feat off they must be exceptionally talented and must have a flair for dramatics."

Did she just make a joke? Oh Merlin. I turned to look at Cedric and saw him gaping like a fish out of water.

"Come on, Cedric. We have that thing to do. Good evening professor." We both stood up and left the class room leaving Professor McGonagall who was smirking.

"What just happened?" Cedric was grinning as he asked.

"We, Cedric, are going to prank the hell out of those foreigners for our dear ol' Hogwarts" I smirked

"I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship" Cedric smirked back.

* * *

An hour later I was sitting besides Cedric along with the Hufflepuffs at their house table. The delegations from both Beauxbaton and Durmstrang had arrived about ten minutes ago and were sitting at Ravenclaw and Slytherin House tables respectively. Most of the students were whispering furiously about Krum who was frowning as he examined a golden goblet. Colin Creevey was snapping photo after photo of him.

At the head table there were many faces I haven't seen before. It must have been ministry official.

Dumbledore stood up and the entire hall went silent. He went on and on about how this tournament was a marvelous opportunity to do blah blah blah and then,

"With that said, let us welcome the students of beuxbaton to our school," He paused. A girl stood up wearing standard beuxbaton uniform. All the males in the great hall let out a gasp. She was beautiful. There was no other word to describe her. From this distance I could only make out her silvery blond hair and a beautiful body. I was fascinated. No, I was not looking at her because of her looks. But by the sheer amount of power she radiated. I could feel her magic rolling off her. It was huge. Even before she raised her wand I knew that she was going to be a hard opponent.

"Veela" I heard Cedric whispering. Every single male except cedric and I seem to be caught in some kind of trance.

At that moment she raised her wand and whispered something. A huge silver Hawk about the size of an elephant erupted from her wand tip and flew once around the hall before bursting into many small pieces. Each of the pieces then landed in front of the students and reformed into a perfect five inch replica of the original hawk. Everyone cheered.

"Wow" Cedric raised his eyebrows. What she did took immense amount of power and a great deal of concentration. She conjured,animated and enchanted it simultaneously. She sat down looking completely bored. And it pissed me off to no end.

"You or me?" I asked. "You take this one, I suck at enchanting" He replied. I nodded.

Dumbledore clapped politely and continued"And our friends from the north, Durmstrang"

This time Krum stood up in a military fashion and conjured an enormous Dragon made entirely out of fire. It gave a mighty roar and exploded. The temperature inside the hall increased at least five degrees. Cedric smirked. The Durmstrang students cheered loudly. Brute strength. Krum packed a punch. It would take three average wizards to conjure that much fire. To shape it into a dragon, he was a power house. what he lacks in finesse he makes up with brute strength.

The Hogwarts students were quiet. Students and staffs from both Beauxbaton and Durmstrang were openly smirking at us.

Dumbledore flashed his grandfatherly smile and was about to say something but it was time for our show. I yawned loudly and stood up. Everybody looked at me waiting for me to do something.

"What?" I asked as innocently as possible.

"Harry, they are showing off. You are supposed to sit and clap." Cedric condescended as loudly as he could.

"But it wasn't even that impressive, Cedric" I raised my wand and a huge silver Dragon erupted from my wand. It let out a loud roar and exploded into a thousand parts just like the French witch's conjuration. Each of the pieces formed a lion, raven, badger or a snake varying from student to student.

"See" my sound broke the silence in the hall. They cheered loudly but stopped when Cedric stood up.

"But, that's not the point" He shook his head and conjured a large dragon at least five foot bigger than what Krum had conjured. It exploded into snowflakes.

"It's a matter of principles, Harry. We are not supposed to mock them" He said in a mock sad voice. Students were openly laughing now . I saw McGonagall smirking at Karakaroff. Even Snape looked happy. Well he was not sneering any way.

"But you just did"

"Huh, Guess I did"

"So, Can we give them our show now?" I heard the students gasping. This was our plan all along. We would perform whatever feat they would do. Then we would perform our special trick.

We raised our wands simultaneously and started chanting in Latin. It was a two part spell which required two castors. One would provide the power and other would control it. This was something I had founded in Slytherin's personal journal. It was supposed to be invented by Rowena Ravenclaw. The complex part was the controlling bit. Since I knew more about the spell than he did Cedric had asked me to do that bit.

Blue flames surrounded us before vanishing into nothing. Cedric sat down due to the strain. Nothing happened for a few seconds. Durmstrang students started laughing. I looked at McGonagall and smirked.

 _'Incipere'_

Animals of all type made up of blue flames came into existence all around me. Doe, lion, wolf, rabbits .Animals of all breed and type ran around the room. I was in control of each and every one of them. My mind was flooded with information. There were two hundred and thirty one magical constructions and I could see and hear everything they could. I made them do some trick. Foxes ran under the tables, Birds flew around; rabbits and deer's nuzzled the girls. I made a dove land in front of that French girl. I flinched as Krum destroyed a lion.

 _"Look at the details on this dove, Fleur"_ I heard one girl calling her. Fleur,so that's her name.

 _"He can see you, you know"_ she replied.I'm busted. She knows how the construct works. She waved her hand and before I could have a proper look at her face my dove vanished. My concentration faltered and all constructs vanished simultaneously . Cedric stood up and shouted to a hall full of awestruck people.

"And that's how you show off"

* * *

A/N: So how was it? Come on review.

I hope I gave Fleur a strong start. About McGonagall . I've always loved that scene in Deathly hallows where she says"I've always wanted to do that" I always wanted to try something like that with her character. Even though she completely believes that Dumbldore can do no harm she does have a strong personality. So, yeah. That's about it.

P.S. Review


	8. Who Is She?

Disclaimer: I don't own H.P

Who is she?

Chapter 10

* * *

"She said the ground and the sky, they love each other but they don't have arms so rain; that's just how they hold one another"

\- Shoulders, Shane Koyczan

* * *

 _"And that's how you show off"_

* * *

The week that followed was simply awesome. Cedric and I were hailed as the heroes of Hogwarts. Cedric said that he had overheard some first years were trying to start a cult of some sort. The thing about that prank was that it showed the sheep that I had power. But the best thing was that I had gained a new friend, Cedric. He was like an older brother/cool dude/all around nice guy.

"Harry, can I ask you something?" We were in the kitchens. It was a great place to eat smuggled food items like croissants and burgers stolen from beuxbatons carriage courtesy of twins. They had started worshipping us as their masters. ( _Trust me I was grossed out too when I heard that)_

"Alright, go on" Cedric had that serious look.

"Do you have any grand plan that involves me?" That was his style. If he wants to know something he'll ask you bluntly. He expects the same from you too.

"I have" I replied as I chewed my food. The difference between me and Dumbledore is that I won't manipulate my friends into doing something they won't want to.

"You are telling the truth" He frowned.

"How do you know?" Now I was hooked. I did not even feel a legilimency probe.

"You shift your right leg an inch towards the left when you are lying" He explained. But that threw me off. How can he read me? To read something off from a person you need at least years of familiarity. There was no explanation other than one. If it was what I think it was then it was crazy. But when you remove the impossible then what remains no matter how strange must be the truth.

"You have eidetic memory" I exclaimed. His face paled but then he sighed.

"Should've known you would deduce it sooner" He shook his head.

"Explain. " I said. He sounded bitter. As if he was ashamed of having a photographic memory.

"I don't know how to explain it. I can remember every single thing, every minute detail. People thinks that it's a boon, but it's a curse actually," He paused. "I'm bored, Harry. I can't read a same book twice no matter how much I love it because I can remember it perfectly. I can't let people know about this because I'll be an outcast. They'll think that I'm good because I have some sort of super brain. That's not the truth. Just because I can remember everything doesn't mean I can understand everything. I have the memories but the skills and knowledge I have to earn by hard work," He took a deep breath. I can understand what he's saying. Magic is all about balance. The more you work the more you get. He has an advantage over his peers so magic expects him to work more or she'll not grant him what he wishes.

"The Sorting hat put me in Hufflepuff because it knew that I would need to work hard. And work hard, I did. I have tried so hard to be the best. Every night I'll be the last one to sleep in my House. I have a great memory but to understand what I remember I need to work. Ever since my parents knew about my talent they started to expect more from me. They won't settle for anything good, they want me to be great. I don't hate them. But I do hope they were different. I want to enter this tournament because _I_ want to. They expects me to become a high level ministry official. I want to be something more. Something exciting, adventurous, and possibly life threatening." He grinned.

"So let me get this straight. You have an eidetic memory. Your parents wants you to use that to become the minister but you don't want to. You want to do something that helps everyone but must give you an adrenaline rush. Am I right?"

"Yeah. Short but right" he nodded.

"Welcome to team potter, where you gets to battle basilisks and Dark lords to save the innocents" I grinned. "Where do I sign?" He smirked.

"Sign? Do you think that something that's awesome as Team potter will accept someone by handing out membership forms? We only do it the hard way." I puffed out my chest.

"Don't use "hard" and "we" in the same sentence, Harry"

I chocked on my burger. "You are in" I declared. This guy was too awesome not to be in my group.

"So, are you going to tell me your plan?" He asked seriously.

"Cedric, I can't tell you what happened to me to make me the person I am today. I can't tell you everything I have planned. I just can't. But I'll never hide things from you that you need to know or that involve you. Right now my plan involves us being selected as champions of Hogwarts and winning the Tournament" I gave him the blunt truth.

"And after that?"

"Trust is something that can be earned only with time." I replied. He nodded.

"So, you'll tell me when you can trust me."

"No, I'll tell you when we both trust each other. Voldemort is not dead. He'll come back. And my plan revolves around him and Dumbledore. "

"And you don't trust Dumbledore?" He half asked, half stated.

"No."

"Why?"

Then I told him how Dumbledore had tried to capture voldemort by using the philosopher's stone as a bait in a school full of children. How Dumbledore didn't do anything when he knew the basilisk was the monster of the Chamber. I did not tell him anything other than that. He hasn't earned it yet. With his eidetic memory he analysed everything. He hadn't talked once during my lecture. When I finished He looked like he waas going to puke. I just tore his childhood hero into pieces.

We were silent for a while. Then he tossed me the last Burger .

"Okay" He simply said. "I don't know what happened to you Harry, But you are far more mature than what you should be. And I know that because I can see straight through you. I believe you. Plus nobody likes a dark lord."

"Cool" I said as I started on the hamburger.

"So, What are _we_ going to do first?" he asked. This guy's simply awesome.

"Information on people with the possibility of becoming champions, Tasks and people we can trust"

"You sure you aren't a dark lord?" He joked.

"Nah, I don't want to kill anyone except moldyvort. And Snape. May be Malfoy. That's not evil, is it?"

"Nah." We laughed.

"So, do you know anything about that French Veela?" I asked. Seventh years had classes along with Durmstrang and Beuxbaton students.

"No, she hasn't even come to any of the classes yet. And her classmates are tight lipped about her. I mean not a single word" He frowned.

"Nothing? I thought there would be girls bitching about her for being a Veela." I was confused. Jealousy was a universal emotion. Why didn't girls at least gossip about her? Something was wrong. This girl was definitely climbing up on my mysteries to solve list.

"No, nothing.I don't even know her last name. Their names aren't registered in our attendance list." Wow. Considering that Cedric has an eidetic memory that's troubling.

"Who are you, Fleur?" I mused.

* * *

"Add the asphodel after the sixth turn, Nott" We were brewing a strengthening potion. Over the week Nott and I have became partners in potions. He really had a knack at figuring out new ways to brew a potion and my knowledge was second only to Snape.

"Draco is planning something" He said as he stirred the potion.

" So, that's why he is keeping his distance. Know what he's planning?" I noticed that Malfoy was watching us so I acted like we were discussing about the potion.

"No"

I know why Nott is allying with me. After that show Cedric and I pulled off everybody knew that I was not to be messed with. That put Malfoy's in a hard place. Everybody knows that I hold a grudge against him so nobody wants to be associated with him anymore. That means the throne of slytherin is up for grabs for anyone. Nott wants that power so he's allying with me as I hold the cards now. It's not what I wanted but at least he was making a stand now.

"I assume you are going to make the best of this situation" Let him know that I know what he's doing. He looked impressed.

"Of course" He smirked.

"Is it going to happen today?" I asked as I started crushing runespoor fangs.

"No, Before Halloween. That's all I know." We stopped talking as Snape came over to check on our potion. He grunted and moved over to the next station without a single word. That must mean our Potion was Outstanding. Poor man .I just robbed him of his favourite hobby. He won't be able to call me a dunderhead anymore. I was chuckling as we were leaving the class room.

"Why are you smiling Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Well, You know, Stuff" I replied. She shook her head and muttered something like "boys".

* * *

It was a bright Saturday afternoon and I was leaving the great hall.

"Hello, Harry Potter" A dreamy voice came from behind me.

I turned and saw a girl I have never seen before. Dirty blond hair decorated with some kind of wild flower and wide eyes which were currently focused at a point above my head. She had a necklace made up of corks.

"Hello to you too, beautiful stranger" I replied trying to use the same dreamy voice she had used.

"Oooh! You know about knarkals too." She beamed.

"What do you mean?" I was baffled.

"You used the makwaka voice so that they won't spy on us" She tilted her head. I was reminded of Tam. My heart stopped for a second.

"Yeah, Sorry, I didn't get your name" I said.

"Oh, I am Luna Lovegood. But people call me loony. You can too, if you want?"

Loony, people called her loony. She was being bullied. I hate bullies, I hate Dudley.

"But Luna is such a good name. Can I call you Luna?" I asked without a hint of pity. I know all about being bullied, about being different.

"Okay" She beamed again.

"What do you want Luna?"

"Well, I am a reporter for Quibbler. And we are publishing an article about Rotfang conspiracy this month. Our editor wants to know whether you are a part of it or not. "She answered seriously. She then proceeded to tell me how there was a nefarious plot to bring down the wizarding world to its knees by gum diseases.

"Well you can tell him that I'm not a part of the Rotfang conspiracy, Luna. Though I'm pretty sure that Dumbledore is involved in it. I have seen him handing out sweets to unsuspecting adults with my own eyes. " I lowered my voice. "But you can't quote me on that one."

"Oh, thank you, Harry Potter. I will ask daddy to make sure that your name will not be mentioned."

"Your dad?"

"He owns the paper" Huh, That's interesting.

"Oh, Can I have a subscription then?" I was totally serious. I so wants to read that article.

Five minutes later I was five galleons less rich. But hey, I had a life time subscription of Quibbler. I was walking down the path to Hagrid's hut. Pumpkins the sizes of an average human were growing on his front yard. He must have been growing them for the Halloween decorations. I knocked the door and the booming bark of fang answered me.

"Come on in, Harry" Hagrid opened the door for me.

"What's with the suit, Hagrid?" He was wearing a black suit and an yellow tie.

"I, er, wasgointerassommaoneonadate" He mumbled.

"What?" He fidgeted like a five year old.

"I was goin' ter ask someone out on a date." He was blushing. Half of his was face obscured by his beard and the other half was blushing bright red.

"Who's the lucky girl?" I elbowed his side.

"Olympe" He blushed further.

Huh. Hagrid and Maxime, I can only hope that he won't be hurt by her.

"Good luck, big man. I think she'll say yes." I gave him a pat on the back.

"Yeh think so?"

"Yeah" With that I left the hut and walked towards the lake. I sat down under the same tree where Tam faded. I still didn't know what kind of tree it was. It had a smooth brown bark, bright green leaves and silver flowers. Silver and green, her favorite colors. I leaned back against the bark and closed my eyes. I felt the wind ruffling my hair. I let out a breath and shivered. This spot reminded me of her. I touched the tattoo on my left shoulder and traced it as I remembered her. Her eyes, hair, smile. I slowly drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up there was another girl sleeping under the tree about ten feet away from me. The first thing I noticed was a sweet aroma surrounding her. It smelt pleasant but I couldn't exactly say what it was. Then I noticed that she had waist length silver hair. It was her, Fleur.

She snored slightly. Her breath blowing small strands of silver hair which had fallen over her lips away. I was captured by her beauty. She looked like an angel fallen from heavens. Her lips, thin and pink twitched as the strands of hair tickled her. I am not a kind of a guy who would take advantage of a girl while she's asleep. But I couldn't help notice that she had a body that any girl would kill for. Words just didn't do her beauty justice.

"Er, Wake up" I tentatively nudged her shoulder. It was getting dark.

She opened her eyes. Sapphire blue orbs pierced into mine. Her eyes were still half closed.

"Bonjour, monsieur Potter" She had a beautiful voice. She yawned widely as she sat up.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle" I replied politely. "What were you doing here?" I asked.

"Sleeping" she said simply.

"Before that?"

"Oh, I was spying on you"

 _' Wait, what?'_

"Care to explain that?" Either she was the worst spy in the world or she had some amazing plan to make me trust her by saying that. The latter seemed farfetched even for me.

"Madame maxime didn't like me skiving off classes. She, 'ow do you say eet, blew a fuse. So I told 'er zhat I was skipping classes to spy on you" She shrugged.

"And you skipped your classes because?" I was curious.

"Eet was boring. I 'ad better zings to do"

"Like sleeping" I pointed out.

"Oui" She wasn't even a bit fazed. She stood up and was going to leave. I decided to prod some information from her.

"So what shall I call you?" I asked.

She looked at me with a confused expression.

"You know my name." It was not an accusation but rather a statement.

"A friend of mine taught me not to use a girl's name without their permission" I said remembering Tamsyln.

"She is a wise one." She nodded.

"She was" It slipped out before I could stop.

She looked at me strangely and started walking towards beuxbaton carriage. But she stopped after walking ten meters and turned towards me.

"Fleur, my name is Fleur Delacour" And left just like that.

Flower of the court. Nice name.

But something nagged me. Delacour. Of the court.

The court. _The_ court.

 _Shit._

Now I know why people were scared to gossip about her. She must be the daughter of Apolline Delacour.

Bloody hell.

* * *

A/N:

So, I gave Cedric an eidetic memory. How do you think he was able to master a complex spell in so fast? Don't think Cedric is the same all around good guy. He is a nice guy. But y'all know I can't resist the temptation to paint my characters in a different way. So be prepared.

So what do you guys think? Review. I just love 'em reviews. I'll be explaining about why people are afraid of Appoline later on. This chapter is a bit shorter than usual but I hope you liked it.


	9. Champions

Chapter 11

Champions

"All suffering in the world is born from an individual's incompetence."

* * *

 _"Fleur, my name is Fleur Delacour" And left just like that._

 _Flower of the court. Nice name._

 _But something nagged me. Delacour. Of the court_

 _The court._ The _court._

 _Shit._

* * *

Now I know why people were afraid to even gossip about her. She must be Apoline delacour's daughter. One word summed up my thoughts.

Shit.

I sent a patronus to Cedric to meet me in the room of requirements as soon as possible. I knew of its existence from Riddle. Cedric and I had decided to use it for our training. The chamber would have been my first choice but it felt more personal, Like that it belonged to me and me alone. When I reached the seventh floor Cedric was already waiting for me. I gestured him to follow me into the room. I sat down in front of the fireplace. He sat in front of me.

"Good news or bad news?" He asked.

"Both. I found out who the French girl is."

"What's the bad news?"

"She is a Delacour" I said. He looked at me confused. He didn't know about the Delcours. He didn't travel in their circles. Neither did I. But Riddle did.

"Have you heard about the court, Cedric?" I asked.

"Which court? " He frowned and when it clicked he paled visibly. " _The_ court?" I nodded.

"What does she has to do with the court?" He hasn't figured it out yet.

"Everything. She is the daughter of Apoline Delacour. " He didn't know who Apoline was. Very few did. Apoline delacour was the unnamed queen of all of south. She ruled the French mafia. Nobody knows who she is. The Delacours have been ruling the underworld of France since late thirteenth centuary. Theirs was the last word in all of France for mafia. Hence they were their court. DMLE all around the world knows about Delacour family's existence. But the current leaders name was a well kept secret. Tom had quite a few connections; He knew Appoline was the next in line. Considering that was over fifty years ago I'm assuming she is the queen now and that Fleur is her daughter. No one in French ministry dares to go against them for if she falls half of France will fall along with her. French economy will go poof! Everyone knew the current head was a woman who went by the name 'Angel of death'.

"Perhaps you are familiar with the name ' _Ange de la mort_ '"I said in a bitter tone.

"Shit" If possible Cedric paled further. It really was bad news. Fleur Delacour is an enigma. I have absolutely no idea about what to do with her. She can be my worst enemy or my greatest ally.

"Yeah, shit" I agreed.

"So what are you gonna do about her?" He asked finally.

"Me? Why does it have to be me?"

He gave me an incredulous look.

"Fine. I'll think of something. Have you put your name in yet?" I asked.

"No, I was going to submit it tomorrow." He shrugged.

"Don't. I'll put it in. Write your name on this parchment. I'll make sure that we both will be selected as champions." I handed him a parchment.

"How?" He asked curiously.

"Plausible deniability. I'll tell you later" I replied as I wrote my name on another parchment. He shrugged and wrote his name on the parchment.

"You know, we would probably be selected as champions even without whatever nefarious thing you are about to do" He was still too noble.

"But my way will make sure that we _will_ be selected as champions," I paused " Now, where can I get a twelve year old virgin girl as a sacrifice?" I mused.

"Ha,ha. Harry ,Where are you going? That was a joke ,right? RIGHT? HARRY!"

I chose not to answer him as I walked out of the room leaving behind a thoroughly annoyed Cedric .

Tomorrow was Halloween and that means Malfoy was going to strike today. I was extremely careful about my surroundings but no attack ever came. No ambush, No nothing. Something was very wrong.

As soon as I walked in to the great hall I realized why there was no ambush. Malfoy had outdone himself . There was a crowd of people standing around something. When they saw me they hurriedly moved out to make a way. In the middle surrounded by a pool of blood laid a house elf. Its eyes were glassy and devoid of life. It wore a dirty pillow case as dress. On it words were written with blood.

'THIS IS WHAT FOLLOWS TO ANYBODY WHO ASSOSCIATE WITH POTTER'

It was the corpse of Dobby. Dobby, the poor elf, who tried to save me from the monster of the chamber. I mercilessly shoved all emotions using Occlumency. It was what Malfoy had wanted. He wants me to be angry. With tomorrow being my parent's death anniversary he must know that I'll be affected by this. But why? Why does he want me to be angry? Then,

"YOU MONSTER! YOU CAUSED THIS" Katie Bell was shrieking. Her eyes were red. I immediately recognized the signs of being under the influence of elixir of hatred. Malfoy had really thought this one out. He was counting on the fact that being a friend her actions will hurt me much more than a random person. He was using the death of a house elf to intimidate people, to stop them from associating with me. But he was way beneath me.

I quickly stunned Katie. The great hall was silent now.

"I know who did this. Take Katie to Hospital wing, She's under the effect of a potion. I told you in the beginning that I am not the same person who I was before. If you want to play then I shall oblige." I said in a clear voice and left the hall without another word.

I was angry but I was in control. Malfoy jr killed a sentient being just to tarnish my name. He just moved up my list of things to destroy. He wants me to think that death follows where ever I go. How right he is. I walked towards the lake. But my spot under the tree was already occupied by a silver haired beauty.

I sat down a respectable distance from her. She turned her head at the sound of me sitting down and saw it was me. She gave me a brilliant smile. I nodded back politely.

"You are angry" She stated. I simply nodded. We sat there in silence for a long time. I did not know how to proceed with her. So I decided to keep quiet till she speaks to me. I was calculating, planning and plotting. I decided that Malfoys needed to be punished more than what I had originally planned for them. Initially I was focused on Lucius Malfoy, A death eater who escaped his judgment. From what I had just seen little Draco was had not fallen far from the tree. He just signed his downfall.

I was broken out of my thoughts by a loud snore. She was sleeping, again. It bought a smile to my face. I appreciated her not poking around my business. I conjured a silver flower that would act as an alarm to wake her up before sunset. I placed it besides her as I left.

* * *

It was closer to one'o'clock in the morning. The great hall was empty. I was astonished to find that Dumbledore had left Filch to guard the goblet. Who leaves a squib to guard a magical object in a school of magic? A stunning spell was that all it took. Dumbledore had drawn a ward line around the goblet to prevent students from tampering with the goblet. It was an intent based ward. An accomplished occlumens could easily bypass it. I shrugged off the magic trying to enter my mind and whispered _'confundo'_

Now the goblet will think that we are the only students who entered our name under Hogwarts. It took immense power and my knees were growing weak .

"Pipsy" I called one of the elves from the chamber.

"Master called pipsy?" she asked as soon as she popped in.

"Take me in to the chamber, Wake me about three hours before the feast. I need to rest." I ordered her and she popped me to my bedroom.

* * *

I wore the most expensive cloths I had to the Halloween feast. Halloween was a bad day for me. But I can't let people know that. The entire hall was filled with Jack o lanterns the size of horse carriages. I saw Cedric waving me over.

"Did it work?" He asked eagerly.

"I think so" I took a bite from some crazy French dish in front of me.

Everybody was whispering furiously. Many were openly staring at us.

"Take a note of everybody's expression when our name comes out. " I said as low as I could. Cedric nodded. With his eidetic memory we can know who has it in for us.

After the Halloween feast was served and the food cleared, Dumbledore got up and an unnatural silence settled throughout the hall.

"It is time for the champions to be chosen." He said and almost as soon as the words had escaped his lips, the goblet began hissing violently and sparks of read shot out from it. The sparks suddenly disappeared and two pieces of paper came floating through the air which Dumbledore caught. Pretty dramatic, I thought.

"The champions from Durmstrang will be, Viktor Krum and Vladimir Romanoff!" He read loudly and the hall was filled with cheers and applause. They both stood up and marched up to Dumbledore in a military fashion. Vladimir was six foot five at least. He looked like a professional wrestler. Dumbledore smiled at them and directed them towards a door on the left behind the staff table. He stared intently at the goblet which was now sparking red once more and Dumbledore caught another paper that floated through the air.

"The champions from Beauxbatons are, Fleur Delacour and," He paused as he caught the second piece of paper "Nicole Du Couteau"

Fleur had the same bored expression she always wore and started walking without waiting for her companion. Nicole was a pretty girl with freckles. She had that average friendly girl aura. But I saw her snarling for a second at Fleur before collecting herself. I looked and saw Cedric was watching her closely too.

"And the champions from Hogwarts are," Dumbledore paused. This time the flames turned bright red and started emitting blue sparks.

"It worked. Get ready" I whispered to Cedric. Everybody was holding their breath.

Two pieces of parchment were ejected from the fire simultaneously.

"Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory"

The cheering was the loudest from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Cedric nodded and was taking in everything. I waved once and we started walking towards the Head table together. I swear I saw Professor Kitty winked at us. We walked straight pass Dumbledore as the Goblet emitted another parchment. We paused in our track. It landed in front of me. I picked it up and saw my name written on it. I burned itquickly before anyone could read it.

"What? It was a prank gone wrong" I shook my head as everyone gawked at me. I turned and mouthed "Later "to Cedric. We entered the room. The six champions were lined up against the fireplace, with Maxime beside Fleur and Nicole and Karkaroff beside Krum and Vladimir. Two persons I never knew before were in the centre of the room. Cedric informed me of their identities, Barty Crouch and Ludo Bagman.

"What was in written in that paper, Harry?" Dumbledore asked as soon as he entered the room.

"Nothing, it was empty. It was a prank." I lied without a second thought.

"Come on, Albus. Let's get on with fun part," Ludo bagman was trying his best not to jump up and down. "Now then, I think it's about time we let the champions have their instructions? Barty, If you please…"

Barty Crouch wore a neat muggle suit, I doubted even the Dursleys could see him for what he is.

"The first task will take place on a week from today. This task is designed to test your daring and nerve in the face of the unknown so you will not be given any information about what you will face. All of us have sworn unbreakable vow not to reveal any information to any of you so as to prevent cheating," He gave Karakaroff a meaningful look. "If any of you have questions about it, I suggest you ask them now." Crouch looked around at us expectantly. When no one spoke he nodded in satisfaction.

"So that's it then. You'll all be called in tomorrow for the wand weighing ceremony. Good luck to you all"

Krum and Vladimir were the first to leave. The glare that Krum gave Cedric was noticed by everyone. Looks like he took what Cedric did at the welcoming ceremony as a personal insult. Cedric gestured me to follow him.

"I'm guessing that paper wasn't empty" He said as we walked towards the great hall.

"No, someone tried to enter my name. This is troubling." I ran My hand through my hair to calm myself down.

"Yeah"

"Did anybody look sour when our names were chosen?" I asked.

"Most of the slytherins except Nott and that Davis girl. Cormac McLaggen, Zacharias smith, all of beuxbaton and Durmstrang hates us outright."

"That's short" I said sarcastically. "What about Ronald?"

"Your friend? He looked like he had expected it." He replied after taking a moment to remember.

"See you tomorrow at the Wand weighing ceremony"

"Yeah, Good night"

* * *

I woke up with a slight headache. Last night twins had thrown a huge party. I hadn't drunk anything strong remembering my previous experience with fire whiskey. But the sound and partying had been enough to cause a headache. Even Ron who had great jealousy issue seemed fine with me being a champion. With my show last week it wasn't a surprise really. According to Twins Cedric and I had a two to one odd on being selected as champions. I went down to the great hall along with Hermione. After an hour of hearing her going on and on about S.P.E.W I reluctantly gave her some money and went to the classroom where the Wand Weighing was supposed to classroom was huge. Much bigger than any of the other classrooms I had ever been in. The usual desks and chairs were gone and in the middle of the room sat Ollivander who smiled, nodding his head at me when Iwalked in. The headmasters and headmistress were all present with the addition of a rather viscous looking woman with dirty blonde hair who fixed me with a hungry look . Rita skeeter. I had read stories written by her, all of which indicated that her stories mainly consist of few facts and a colorful imagination. But the sheep loves her.

"Now that all of them are here, we can get started. Mr. Ollivander?" Dumbledore turned and took his seat with Karkaroff and Madame Maxime on the opposite side of the room with the two remaining people in the room. Ollivander stood up from his place and turned with a warm smile on his face.

"There's nothing to worry about. We're just going to inspect your wands to see if they are in perfect condition. Ladies first…Miss Delacour, if you please?" Fleur walked lazily and reluctantly handed her wand over.

"Hmm…nine and a half inches. Rosewood. And the core is…dear me…a single hair from a Veela?" Fleur just yawned.

Ollivander was flabbergasted. To be honest I thought it was only fair. How many times had he scared children who walked in to his store? About time someone flipped him.

"I have never used Veela hair for a core in my wands. They make temperamental wands" He apparently didn't know who she was. Both Dumbledore and Maxime flinched. Fleur opened her usually half closed eyes open fully for the first time. But she did not say anything.

He took a few more minutes with the wand and finally he murmured, _"Orchideous"_ causing a bouquet of flowers to appear from the end of her wand.

"It's in perfect condition, thank you for allowing me to assess your wand Miss Delacour." He said, bowing to her and handing her the wand and the flowers. He missed the relieved expressions on Dumbledores and Maxime's faces. Fleur just went back to her seat and closed her eyes.

"Mr. Krum then…".

"Ten and a quarter inches. Hornbeam. Dragon heartstring core?" He asked and Krum nodded silently. "This is a Gregorovitch creation is it not?" He asked again to which Krumgrunted something. "Inflexible, suited more for power."

He spent a little bit more time and made a flock of birds burst out from the end of his wand with a bang like a gunshot. Then he handed the wand back to Krum with a satisfied expression, announcing that it was in the best condition again. Cedric went next.

"Ah, now this is one of my own." Ollivander said happily. "It's in fine condition too"

"Polished it last night." Cedric said, grinning sheepishly. I coughed loudly. Ollivander didn't get that. How can you miss that? He polished his wand last night? come on people.

"I remember this clearly, twelve and a half inches. Ash. Containing a single tail hair from a fine male unicorn. Best suited for transfiguration." Cedric nodded in response and Ollivander returned to examining it. He finished his examination faster than the others and gave it back to him after making a fountain of wine shoot from its end, announcing that it was in perfect condition.

"Miss Du Couteau, If you please"

She handed him his wand.

"Ten and a half inch. Oak. Containing chimera heart string. Best suited for Dark arts" Wow, that was a surprise. He proclaimed it was in fine condition.

After her it was Vladimir. Ollivander said it was in fine condition too. Then he came to me.

"How well I remember this wand." I nodded, "Eleven inches. Holly. Containing a single tail feather of a phoenix. Nice and supple…" Ollivander suddenly stopped, looking at his wand curiously. He spent a much longer time with his wand than the others and murmured a spell that did nothing before handing me over my wand and proclaiming that it was in good condition.

"Can we go zen?" Nicole asked.

"Not yet! We still haven't gotten pictures of the champions or a back story on them. The Daily Prophet is doing a feature on the Triwizard tournament." Skeeter called. I noticed that for a second, Dumbledore frowned.

We were all made to stand in the center of the room while the cameraman snapped photo after photo. I gave them my best dazzling smile. After the group photos were over they insisted on taking individual photos of the champions. Then Rita approached me.

"Rita Skeeter, reporter for the Daily Prophet. I was wondering if I could get a small interview with you? Nothing much…just a few questions?"

"Of course. You wouldn't mind if Cedric tagged along, would you?" My tone made it perfectly clear that it was not a request.

"If you must" Her smile faltered for a second.

She pulled both of us into a tiny broom closet. Before she could open her mouth I began.

"I am going to tell this only once, Rita" I purred her name" You cross me or Cedric and I'll make sure that you'll pay for it. See,I made a few research this summer and bought some stocks . Know that I own twenty percent of the daily prophet and Cedric's father owns another eight percent before you ask your questions" My face was only mere inches away from hers. Her perfume attacked my nose. It was disgusting.

She gulped. "What do you want me to do?" She asked.

I grinned.


	10. The First Task

Chapter 12

The First Task

* * *

So, fare thee well

Now boast thee, death, in thy possession lies

A lass unparallel'd. Downy windows close;

And golden Phoebus never be beheld of eyes again so royal!

-Shakespeare

* * *

 _"Harry?"_

 _"mmhm"_

 _"Why do you like treacle tart?"_

 _"I dunno. I just do"_

 _"mmhhm"_

 _.Silence._

 _"Harry?"_

 _"Yeah?"_

 _"There is life after love and there is love after love"._

I woke up. My cheeks were wet with tears. Every night I'll relive the moments we shared. After a long time I had dreams instead of nightmares. Dreams filled with the memories of a girl with obsidian dark eyes. It gave me strength. It reminded me that I had a promise to keep. I will win. I jumped down from my bed. For the last two days I have been sleeping down here in the chamber. My dorm mates respected my wishes and never let anyone knew that I was not spending my nights at the Gryffindor tower as I should. Might have something to do with the free play wizard subscription I gave them.

There was something strange going on. The organizers had changed so many rules. Six champions, unbreakable vows to prevent cheating. The question is why. Then there was the case of my name coming out of the goblet. Somebody really wants me to participate in this tournament. But who?

Dumbledore was a given. Voldemort always wanted me dead but he would want to do it himself. Malfoy? But he didn't have the skill. I shook my head and decidedto go up to the Great hall for break fast.

* * *

I was sitting at the Gryffindor table when the daily prophet came.

TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT-Special Exclusive  
by Rita Skeeter.

 _Good Morning Wizards and Witches! As we all know the Triwizard Tournament has been installed again after many months of painstaking effort of our beloved Ministry International Magical Cooperation. After the failure at the World Cup, our ministry at a daring move has been successful at reinstating the Tournament. Champions of the schools have been chosen last night and we all can see beloved results. Representing Durmstrang is Viktor Krum International Quidditch Champion and his classmate Vladmir Romanoff. On the Beauxbaxtons is the Veela Fleur Delacour and the esteemed Nicole De Couteau .And quite impossibly folks, through talent and grace, Our own hero Mr. Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory. We all are surprised at Potter's daring, but that can be expected from the Boy-Who-Lived._

 _For more details on triwizard tournament pg.5_

 _For more details on the death eater attack pg.7_

I passed the paper to Cedric who started reading it as I turned my attention to Hedwig who had an issue of latest issue of Quibbler. On the cover there was a picture of Albus Dumbledore sucking on a lemon drop beneath which words in red were printed "ALBUS DUMBLEDORE: MASTER MIND BEHIND THE ROTFANG CONSPIRACY?" I chuckled and started reading the article about Dumbledore. Luna as promised had kept my name out of the article. As I finished the article Cedric gave me back the prophet apparently satisfied with the report. It must have caused Rita quite a pain not to smear anyone's name.

But the most important problem right now was that I had no clue about the first task. Professors didn't know about the task and those who did know were under the effect of an unbreakable vow. Cedric was using his connections to find out the first task. The thing about eidetic memory is that you can have loads of black mail material. I mean the things he picked up with that brain of his were huge. He knew who was seeing who, who had hots for who, who was cheating on his girlfriend so on and on.

"Hey, Brad "Cedric called the current head boy, Brad Bagman, over to an abandoned classroom.

"What is it Diggory?" He was obviously displeased that he wasn't selected as a champion.

"You handle this, Cedric. I'll just be over there." I said as I walked out of the class room.

Five minute later Brad ran past me struggling not to cry. I walked back in and saw Cedric giving me a Cheshire cat grin.

"What exactly did you do, Cedric?" I asked curiously.

He simply tapped his nose _. 'I do not want to cross this guy.'_

"So, did you get anything?" I asked.

"Just that our task is to collect a golden egg. He said he had overheard his father speaking to crouch yesterday"

Mhmmm. Golden egg.

"Shit." I swore.

"What?"

"Cedric, connect the dots. Daring, egg and the fact that during the first task of last tournament half the audiences were killed by a rampant Cockatrice" I grimaced.

"Monsters" He realized.

"Yeah, we just have to figure out what kind of monster are we going to face. Fortunately for us there is a person inside the castle who knows everything about monsters" I smirked.

"Hagrid?" Cedric paled. Everyone knew about Hagrid's fascination with monsters.

But an hour later we realized the truth. We were fucked. Karakaroff had insisted on binding Hagrid with an unbreakable vow. Poor guy nearly cried when he couldn't tell me about the task.

"Yeh'll love them, Harry" was that all he could say without breaking the vow. Somehow that didn't exactly comfort me.

* * *

So there we were, on the morning of the day of first task sitting at the Gryffindor table trying to eat something. We had tried everything. Searched the forbidden forest for monsters, asked and blackmailed people but nada, nothing. All we knew were that we had to fight some monster and had to obtain a golden egg. So we threw ourselves in to training. Cedric put his brain into learning about all type of monsters and I practiced all sorts of curses and hexes. We were as prepared as we could ever be. Yet I can't help the feeling that we were fucked.

"Follow me, Boys" Professor McGonagall said in an unusually soft voice. We stood and followed her.

"I don't know what the task is. But the stadium contains many raw materials, so you don't have to conjure anything .Use transfiguration. Always surround yourself with animate objects so that a chance of direct hit can be avoided. And don't waste too much energy on spells," She gave us a warm smile.

"I can't tell you how proud I am to have you both as my students. " She had a proud look on her face as she led us towards a tent.

"This is it. Do your best, Boys"

"Yes, Professor" Cedric and I said with a determined look on our faces.

As we entered the tent we saw all other champions were already there. Fleur still had that bored look but she was scowling. Nicole gave us a friendly wave which we ignored. We were not going to fall for that. We had done our research and found out that she had a nasty reputation of being a back stabbing bitch in her school. Krum glared at us and Romanoff flexed his muscles threateningly. I yawned widely and sat down on a chair. Cedric leaned against the tent pole with an expressionless face.

We could hear the sound of crowd from the stadium. Then Bagman and Crouch entered the tent. Bagman was bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Well, aren't you all excited? I bet you are. So, your task is to collect the golden egg," He paused obviously expecting us to ask him something. When no one did he continued,

"Obviously we can't make it easy. So, we have brought some, er, guardians to watch the eggs. "He stopped,looking at us expectantly.

"Get on with it, Ludo" Crouch said impatiently.

"Yes, Yes. There are six of you and there are six of them. Each team will have to face two different type of, er, Guardians. Hogwarts will go first followed by beuxbaton and then Durmstrang. I'll be commentating and if you think you can't handle the guardians just shoot red sparks. We'll help you out of the stadium, er, hopefully" He added the last part in a small voice.

"When the cannon fires you can enter the arena" and with that he left.

"So do you know anyzing about zese guardians?" Nicole asked in an overly sweet voice.

"Drop the act, we know who you really are" Cedric grunted. He really didn't like manipulators. His style was" I'll be blunt and I expect the same".

She snarled and opened her mouth to retort but was cut off by Fleur.

"Save eet. Zat works only on leettle boys. Sit down" Her voice had a steely edge that I have never heard before. Nicole grunted and reluctantly backed off.

"You are mine" Krum grunted at Cedric. Oops, Poor choice of words.

"We don't swing that way, _Vicky_ , sorry" I mock apologized and Fleur let out a throaty chuckle.

"Vat do you mean?" Krum looked confused. But at that moment Cannon fired.

* * *

We stepped out of the tent and saw that we were in some sort of circular arena. It was a grass land with occasional rocks. There was a large tree exactly opposite to us in the other side of the arena and I saw a golden thing hanging from one of its branch about one meter from ground.

The problem was that we were not alone in the arena. A dragon curled around the tree sleeping and a thing with the body of a dragon and head of a rooster was standing in the middle of the arena with its back towards us. Cockatrice. There must be a silencing ward around us for we couldn't hear what the audience was shouting.

I immediately casted a powerful notice me not charm on us as we pushed our back against the arena wall.

"Cedric, which one is the worst, Cockatrice or a dragon?" I whispered.

"Cockatrice. Poisonous skin, Basilisk stare that can be used once a moon cycle, Deadly speed. To kill it we need a real rooster cry or make it look in the mirror. Scared of weasels" He eidetic memory was a great tool.

"You killed a basilisk, any tips?" He whispered as the Cockatrice slowly started to turn around. I felt my charm fading away. Against magical beings born to hunt that charm had a little to no effect.

"Don't look one in the eyes and don't get bitten" Before he could reply me the Cockatrice let out a shriek and started running towards us.

"You make a mirror, I'll distract it" I shouted as I ran. I transfigured a rock into three weasels and put a compulsion charm on them to surround the Cockatrice. It gave a mighty roar and spat some liquid at me as it ran away from the Weasels. I had no desire to die so I summoned one weasel and used it as a shield. The moment it touched the venom the weasel burnt to ashes. Unfortunately that meant the Cockatrice was not surrounded by weasels anymore. It ran through the gap between the remaining two weasels towards Cedric who was transfiguring a rock into a mirror. I quickly summoned him near me as the Cockatrice looked at the mirror.

"Fuck" Cedric swore. The Cockatrice was still standing. "Cedric, Why is it not dead?" I asked as it smashed the mirror into pieces.

"It must be pregnant; Mirrors won't work on pregnant Cockatrices. That means we can kill it only with a roosters cry"

"Where the fuck can we get a rooster?" I asked as I dodged a swipe by its tail. It now stood between us. Its eyes started to glow a sickly green color.

"It's going to use the Stare, cast Conjunctivitis curse now" I shouted

 _'conjuctivitis'_ we said at the same time and bulls eye, its eyes exploded. It let out a huge shriek and the dragon woke up.

"This is fucking awesome" Cedric exclaimed as he joined my side. We were now back to back, Cedric faced the dragon and I faced the now blinded Cockatrice.

"Cedric, my friend, You are an adrenalin junkie," truth to be told I felt awesome too."What about the dragon?"

"Swedish short snout, slow, thick hide, hates wolves. Weak point eyes and has poor sense of smell" He gave me the short version. The Cockatrice was banging its head against the arena wall. It seems to have forgotten us due to the pain.

"RRRRRRAAAAAARRRRRR" Unfortunately the dragon had its undivided attention on us.

"Wolves" Cedric said and we began transfiguring the rocks around us. But there were only four rocks around us and the dragon seemed to find four wolves as a treat rather than threat. A stream of fire and we were left with nothing else to transfigure.

"Well, that was unfortunate" Cedric frowned.

"For us or the wolves?" I asked as I shot a bombarda at its eyes. It missed.

"Both" Cedric ducked a swipe by the dragon. "Close your eyes "I said.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" He asked as he dodged again. With a shriek the Cockatrice turned its head towards me. It seems to have a superior sense of smell.

"Close your fucking eyes right NOW" I shouted and without waiting for his reply I closed my eyes and casted my spell.

 _'Solarius illuminatus'_ A bright light flooded the arena. The spell was used to produce solar flares. It was invented by Nicholas Flamel. It was a basic spell that was required for many alchemy experiments to provide the kick start to reactions.

The dragon gave a mighty roar and shook its head. The Cockatrice which was already blind seized the moment and lurched towards us. I pulled Cedric to the side and it collided with the blinded Dragon. The dragon roared and bit down hard on the Cockatrice's neck which in turn clamped its beaks on the wings of the dragon. We slowly backed away as they started fighting each other.

We reached the tree as quickly as we could without drawing attention from them. I casted a spell to detect traps but found no enchantment near it. So I moved forward but Cedric pulled me back and shook his head. "Watch the tree" He pointed towards the branches which were quivering even though there was no wind.

These bastards have really outdone themselves. It was a whomping willow. "Know anything about it?" I asked

"Bad, don't go near it" He shrugged. He still had that crazy look on his face.

"Fan-bloody-tastic" I looked around and saw that the creatures were currently occupied. The Cockatrice was winning. We should really finish this soon.

"Cedric ,Let's just burn the shit out" I snarled. Cedric had that shit eating grin when he realized what I had meant.

" _incendio"_ we both casted at the same time. Twin columns of fire covered the tree. The willow swayed back and forth as its leaves and bark burned. Its branches swung wildly as it tried to kill us. But we were just out of its reach. I pushed more power into the spell and the column of fire doubled in size. After thirty second or so it stopped moving. I stopped my spell and Cedric stopped casting five seconds after me. In place of the whomping willow now stood a charred tree. It was half way dead. I motioned Cedric to get the egg as I turned to guard his back. The Cockatrice had won and was currently eating the dead dragon. I felt Cedric tapping my shoulder and turned around. He pressed the egg into my hand.

"Together" He said

We raised the egg and the silence ward around us broke. A massive cheer nearly deafened us. I felt a tug at my navel similar to that of a port key and after a moment reappeared on the medical tent.

I shrugged off madam promfrey as she tried to fuss over me. She huffed and proceeded to check on Cedric who had a cut on his right leg and was bleeding slightly. He still had that crazy grin. I realized that I was grinning too.

"We just did that, didn't we?" He asked excitedly.

"Hell, yeah" I was high from the adrenalin. I couldn't stand still.

"Can we go?" Cedric asked the bewildered nurse who had never seen him acting like that before. She must think that he has some sort of head injury. The polite young man was gone. He jumped down from the bed before she could answer and looped one arm around my shoulder as he pulled me out of the tent. People cheered widely seeing us.

"Ladies and gentlemen give a loud round of applause for the champions of Hogwarts," Bagman's magically magnified voice was drowned by the loud cheers and claps from the spectators. He continued after a moment."They showed their vast knowledge about magical creature by the use of weasel and mirror against the Cockatrice and the use of wolves against the dragon. Their teamwork and magical strength helped them finish the task with just a scratch. Let's see what the judges think about their performance"

Madame Maxime held up an eight, to the unyielding cheer of the people. Karkaroff held up a six and Bagman who gave thumbs up and held up a ten. Crouch gave us a nine. Dumbledore stood up, his eyes twinkling and held up an eight.

"Forty one out of fifty." The crowd cheered again.

"Now it's time for beuxbaton champions." The cannon fired and I noticed that the arena had been repaired. They had brought a new Cockatrice and a new dragon.

Fleur walked in lazily and casted a disillusion charm on her. She shimmered out of existence and the Cockatrice had its eyes fixed on Nicole. She immediately began firing off hexes which as the time went by grew more and more dark. Asphyxiation curse, Blood boiler, entrails exploding curses. It was plainly dark but not advanced. She was vicious. But every single one of her curses bounced of its skin. Suddenly a ring of fire surrounded the Cockatrice. It looked bewildered and snapped its beak at random directions. Fleur, I realized. She rematerialized but I felt something was off; it was as if she was not there. Illusion, the real Fleur was sill invisible. The Cockatrice lurched for the illusion but collided with the sleeping dragon. They started fighting with each other. Fleur shimmered back into view and walked lazily towards the tree but Nicole ran past her to grab the egg first. The new willow was much more intelligent than ours was; it waited till she was in the range and then swiped her away like a fly. She landed at least six meters away. The audience gasped. Fleur was not a bit fazed. She used a fire rope to summon the egg and conjured a bed to carry Nicole. Then I saw her face. It was lit alight with excitement. She checked Nicole apparently for injuries, seeing it was not life threatening she grabbed the egg and both of them disappeared.

"She's good" Cedric commented after a while.

"Yeah, Her illusions were perfect" I added my two Knuts.

"Zank you, 'Arry" A musical voice came from behind me. I turned and saw Fleur smiling radiantly. I nodded and Cedric flinched. She noticed his face.

"So, you know about my _maman_. But 'ow?" She tilted her head.

"I know many things I shouldn't, Fleur" I evaded the question.

"You are, what is ze word, an enigma 'Arry potter" She mused. Funny, I think the same about her.

"The beuxbaton champions chose the same way as Hogwarts champions to get past the monsters,by making them fight one another. A perfect illusion from Miss Delacour tricked the Cockatrice into fighting the curses Couteau casted were obviously dark, though it served its purpose. let's see what the judges think about that cunning performance. " Ludo Bagman was apparently thrilled.

The judges gave them thirty seven points.

"I think the judges were not impressed by the lack of team work and use of dark curses" Ludo bagman commented.

"As eef that _conchon_ wouldn't repeat _zat_ again" Fleur muttered. There must have been some deeper issues between Nicole and Fleur.

The cannon fired again Vladimir and Viktor entered the arena. They didn't wait or plan anything. They just started throwing curses. Then,

" _Fiendfyre"_

Vladimir released fiendfyre on the arena. It was uncontrolled and ran rampant. But it did the trick. The entire arena, including the dragon and the Cockatrice were burning. Krum had produced a bright red shield which protected both of them from fire. Blood magic, Krum had just used his blood to create the shield. These guys had no subtleties. The media will tear them apart but it was still within the rules. Use of dark art was not prohibited but was still frowned upon.

Krum picked the Egg up from a burned Whomping willow and they both disappeared from the arena. The fiendfyre was burning madly, trying to tear down the wards around the arena, to consume everything. About thirty wizards were trying to control the fire. Finally after thirty minutes they succeeded. The arena now looked like someone had dropped a nuclear bomb on it.

"That is how ve do it." The proud voice of Vladimir broke the silence at the champion's box. He was limping. Krum sneered at us. Cedric was about to retort but I stopped him. "Little boys" Krum grunted.

"Let's see what the judges think of that" The disgust was obvious in Bagman's voice.

They got thirty points. People booed when Karakaroff gave them a ten.

We were then asked to follow a rather frail looking witch in to a room.

"All our champions are here, except for poor Nicole" Bagman added the last bit hastily seeing the disapproving look on Crouch's face.

"The first task," the weary official began dryly, 'is over. You have all obtained the golden egg and achieved a score for your methods.'

"Some of which were spectacular," Bagman cut in enthusiastically winking at Cedric and I.

"The egg," Crouch continued with no hint he had even heard Bagman speak, "is your clue for the second task. This will be a surprise task. Solve the clue as soon as you can or you will be at a disadvantage for the next task."

He walked out without another word and the rest of them followed him. Fleur gave me a wave which I reluctantly returned. What was her game?

"So, what the hell have they planned for the second task?" Cedric asked still having that shit eating grin.

"I don't know. But you are hoping for something more dangerous, aren't you?"

His grin, if possible, grew wider.


	11. Too Much Variables

Too Much Variables

* * *

'O cunning Love! With tears though keep`st me blind,

Lest eyes well-seeing thy foul faults should find! '

* * *

After the first task I retreated to the chamber instead of going back into my common room. I knew it was rude of me to not to go to the party they had obviously prepared for me but I was not in the mood. Something was not right. Never before in the history of the tournament had there been a task where the champions had to face two Level Five dark creatures at the same time. It just didn't make sense. It was as if someone wanted a blood bath. And after that fiasco at the world cup that would definitely reflect badly on the ministry.

Yet someone caused this. Someone still hidden in the shadows. This tournament is a cleverly planned assassination attempt. But who do they want to kill? Me, Fleur or Krum? The Krum family had a lot of enemies; The Delacours had no shortage of enemies too.

I thought I had prepared for all possible scenarios. But too many variables had entered the play. It was as if someone had wanted them to enter. Someone knew I had plans, so they changed the game entirely. They changed the game because I had changed. This implied that someone close to me was an enemy.

A spy.

There was a spy at Hogwarts. A spy who knew I had changed long before the students knew. He or she must have been here during the summer or before the welcoming feast. The spy must have reported to his master about my odd behavior. It was no secret among the staff that I had been missing for most of the summer. But who? Who was the spy? Who was his master? Voldemort? It didn't make sense. If it was indeed Voldemort he would want to kill me himself. He would want the world to know that he killed me. But I'm making these all up on assumptions. Why? How? Who? When? I don't know.

Too many things. I need to take a step back and need to see the bigger picture. I can't do this alone anymore. I need more people. Compartmentalization of information, it was time for phase two. I let out a deep breath as I watched the giant squid swimming past my bedroom window.

* * *

"Again" I shouted as I picked myself up from the floor.

"You sure?" Cedric hesitantly asked.

"Again" I snarled. He shrugged and started throwing bludgeoning curses.

I twisted sideways to avoid the first volley. He increased the pace and soon I was jumping, crouching and twisting till one caught me in my ankle and I fell down again.

"Again" I snapped.

"What exactly are you hoping to accomplish, Harry?" He sighed. We had been doing this for an hour for the past two weeks. But nothing had happened yet.

"Again, Cedric" I snarled and ducked as he started firing curses. I focused on the constant pulsating sensation on my chest. I was trying to slow it down, to recreate what happened during the summer. Trying to slow time down.

"That's enough for today." Cedric said firmly as I was blasted off my feet once again.

I sighed and sat down on a bean bag the Room of Requirement had conjured at my request.

"It's not working. I can't unlock it this way" I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples.

"Maybe-

"You should-

"Try kissing –

"A girl" Two voices came from behind me.

"Oh, why is that?" I decided to amuse them. The twins often visited and helped us with our training. That or they just liked cursing me without the fear of me getting back at them.

"They say –

"Time stops-

"When you –

"Kiss a girl" They both made kissing sounds and duck faces.

I shook my head. "Did you get it?"

"Yeah, was a pain in the ass though" Fred said.

"Twenty points and one week of detention" George imitated Snape as he handed me over a fist full of gillyweed.

"Thanks, guys. We really needed it" Cedric said.

"What was the thing again?" Fred asked.

 _'Come seek us where our voices sound,_

 _We cannot sing above the ground,_

 _And while you're searching, ponder this:_

 ** _We've taken what you'll sorely miss,_**

 ** _Just once you've stood, not eye to eye,_**

 ** _Now seek that bond, 'fore the end is nigh,_**

 ** _An hour long you'll have to look_** _,_

 _And to recover what we've took,_

 _But past an hour – the prospect's black,_

 _Too late, it's gone, it won't come back'_

I recited the clue from the egg. It had taken only an hour for us to realize that the screaming was actually mermish. According to the British ministry, they were dark creatures and in preparing for the first task Cedric had came across them. It was obvious that we needed to go under water for the second task, but what the hell was the thing we would miss the most? What bond?

"You know, Percy might know something" George suggested.

"Yeah, we can threaten him "Fred added a little too fast.

"Or can actually-"

"Alright, we get it." Cedric cut them off.

"I need some fresh air, I'll be back in before dinner" I said and Cedric nodded before going back to practicing spells. The twins just went to their laboratory section in the room or as they liked to call it "Where things go BOOM", to invent something crazy.

I sat on the roof of the astronomy tower, watching the ground. The trees and grass looked impressive under the moonlight. I could feel my inner animal begging me to go for a run. I took a deep breath and smelled something pleasant.

"You are pretty good with disillusion charms" I commented to seemingly empty air.

"Not zat good if you were able to detect me" A musical voice replied me.

"Still spying?" I asked, without turning back. I had my wand in my hand though.

Fleur shimmered into existence. "Oui" She answered as she sat down, her legs dangling over the edge. A small wind caressed her silvery hair.

"You spent an awful lot of your time spying on me." I stated.

"Oh?"

"Yes. What confuses me is the why." I was gazing at the full moon. It shone brightly tonight, much brighter than I have ever seen before. Perhaps it was because I had never taken the time to notice it before.

"I'm sure zat you 'ave some zeories" She mused with that lazy tone she always uses.

"Oh, I have three theories. " I replied.

"Three?" She was swinging her legs back and forth.

"Yeah, the first one is that I'm the only allure immune person you have ever seen other than your father and that you are hoping for a strong mate in me," I said sarcastically and she snorted.

"The second one is that you are working for your mother," I turned to face her. She tilted her head. "And ze last one?" she asked curiously.

"If I told you all of my theories then I'll be at a disadvantage, non?" I smirked.

"You are an enigma, 'Arry, And I fully intent to solve you" She mused as she stood up to leave.

"Same to you, Fleur Alexandra Delacour" I said and she froze. Then she laughed.

"You do not know what you have just signed up for 'Arry" She said and left without another word.

"I do, and I hope it's worth the price." I sighed as I watched a cloud slowly masking the moon.

* * *

"Did you really need that much fresh air?" Cedric asked as I threw him a bag filled with food.

"Met Fleur " I shrugged. He raised an eyebrow. Man, he has that down to an art form. Believe me; I have tried to do it. If you don't believe me just try it. It's damn hard to raise just one eye brow.

"I hope you know what you are doing. You are playing with fire, literally" He conjured a thin flame so as to make a point.

"I told you, that story about Apoline burning a man to death is just a rumor" I said for what must have been the fourteenth time.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night" He shrugged. Guy battles dragons and cockatrices for thrill but is scared shit of a Veela. Granted, she may be the don of all of France, and may have killed thousands and …. Er, maybe, just maybe, he was right to be scared of her.

"How is it going with Susan and Ernie?" I tried to change the subject.

"Good. I'm like a brother to them. And I take that responsibility seriously, Harry. I want your word that when shit hits the fan they will be safe." He said seriously. He was all in for risking his life but was not so interested in risking other people's life.

"I am not Dumbledore, Cedric. I won't give you false promises. But I promise you that I'll do my best to protect them" I looked him straight in the eye. He's the only person in the world who can tell if I am lying.

"That's not enough, Harry" He said. But before I could reply he continued "I trust you. If you can't trust the person who you fought a dragon and cockatrice with, I don't know who you can trust. They trust me and I trust you. So I'll do what we have to do. But I need your word. Your word that you won't ever manipulate me" His fists were clenched.

"I trust you, Cedric. You have my word." I promised. We did not say anything for a long time.

"So, are you going tell me about your plans now?" He asked, finally breaking the silence.

"If you want to. But once I tell you there is no going back. You sure you want to know?"

He nodded determinedly.

Three hours later he was sitting there gob smacked.

"So, what do you think?" I asked hesitantly.

"Where the fuck do you come up with these things?" He was looking at me as though he was seeing me properly for the first time.

"This is just part one, Cedric. We are going to be here all night if I'm to explain everything." I shrugged.

"What happened to you down in the chamber, Harry?" He asked quietly.

"I can't tell you, Cedric. It was the worst and best days of my life. Kind of like the defining moment of your life. I don't think I'll ever tell anyone. Sorry." I apologized.

"I understand, Harry. " He nodded. "So, what's rest of the plan?" He asked, his curiosity getting better of him.

I smirked.

* * *

I sat down near Terry Boot for the breakfast. By now everyone had grown out of their initial surprise at me sitting at different house tables.

"Hello, Harry" He greeted me excitedly. Ever since the first task he had been begging me to tell him what spell I had used against the dragon. Thirst for knowledge was his weakness. Of course, considering that I needed him on my side that was an advantage for me. So I had told him that I would teach him in return for his help for the duration of tournament. I plan to make an ally out of him by the time the tournament finishes.

"Hi, Terry. How's it going with the spell?" I asked conversationally.

"Great. I finally broke it down to the basic structure. I'll need one or two days at most to do what you want me to do" He whispered the last part as many were not so subtly trying to catch what we were speaking. I had asked him to modify a spell for the second task. He took great pride in the fact that the Hogwarts champions had asked him for help. Cedric had been somewhat doubtful at first but after speaking with Terry for an hour he agreed with me on the fact that Terry was way beyond N.E.W.T level at spell crafting.

"Good. You are a lifesaver Terry. I'll owe you one if this works" I said graciously.

"Nah, "He shook his head."It's my pleasure Harry. I quite like experimenting with spells. Those books you gave me were more than enough."

"Am I interrupting somezing?" A sweet voice asked.

I turned around and saw Nicole smiling apologetically. My smile became rather fixed.

"Bye, Terry. I'll speak to you later." I saw the twins looking at me and gave them a small nod as I motioned Nicole to follow me in to the entrance hall. It was empty except for the two of us.

"What do you want?" I asked coldly.

"I wanted to apologize to boz of you for ze manner –"

"Save it. Tell me what you really want." I cut her off. Her sweet neighborhood friendly girl persona was really pathetic.

"You seem to 'ave believed ze lies fed by my classmates." She accused.

"And you are denying them all?" I countered rather acidly.

" _Non_ , not all of zem. I am ambitious. Zat means I did what I 'ad to do. But zat does not mean I am a complete _bitch_ like zey say I am," She spat the last part. "After all, you must know 'ow eet feels to be labeled as dark. Nonetheless, I am only asking you to give me a chance to be a friend" She sighed.

My eyes narrowed for a second. She had obviously done her research well. She was acting in a manner that would have made the old Harry begging for forgiveness. She had skills. She admitted she had faults, and then asked me not to judge her.

"I'll think about it" I replied without any hint of emotion. She frowned for a second then smiled brightly.

"Zank you, I guess zats all I can 'ope for" She waved as she left the hall presumably towards the Beuxbatons carriage.

"Did you get her?" I asked turning around.

"One Weasley special listening charm planted successfully, sir" The twins saluted as they emerged from behind a tapestry covering a hidden passageway.

" How long will it take before it fades?"

"Twelve hours at best. We are still working on it." Fred answered.

"Just think about the things we are about to hear!" George wiggled his eye brows suggestively.

"Just tell me if you find anything interesting guys". I really did not want to hear what jokes they were going to come up with.

"Oh, don't worry dear. We'll tell you everything "Fred winked.

Oh, Merlin what have I created? I shuddered involuntarily.

* * *

I found myself on the Astronomy tower once again. I was too worked up. Frustrated. And I needed to calm down. There's nothing that beats the privacy and solitude of the Chamber but I've never felt more clear headed than in the company of a light wind and a wide, unobstructed view of my surroundings. Huh. Funny that. The two places where I feel most at home lie on two opposite sides of the castle.

I watched a raven lazily flapping about above Hagrid's chimney, unmindful of the cold. A plume of smoke rose over the hut and I could almost smell the tea and rock cakes baking over the wood fire from here. I hadn't visited him after the first task.

So lost was I in such _ordinary_ thoughts that I barely registered the door opening behind me.

"Hey, Harry."

I turned around and saw her. The one who'd started off this whole affair. The one person responsible for all the changes happening in my life now. Her red hair fanned out in the breeze and I felt a flash of anger shoot through me. I turned away before it showed on my face.

"Hello, Ginny," A touch too frostily maybe. "What're you doing here?"

Staring at the grounds as I was, I didn't notice the look of hurt on her face.

"I dunno. Just needed a bit of light and fresh air I guess. It's just... There's... I dunno... Something about being surrounded by stone walls all the time... You know?" She was starting to blabber.

"Mmm" I grunted noncommittally.

"And then there're the dreams, you know? Just surrounded by stone, everywhere I look. Except at the edges. The cold and the dark, you know? And I hear this awful hissing all around.. ."

Huh. She's been having nightmares about the Chamber. I wonder if I should tell her I sleep in there.

"-then you were there and it all stopped and-"

By Merlin, she had a good set of lungs on her. Maybe I should interrupt sometime. I am still a bit pissed at her. A good rant ought to clear my head up beautifully.

"-just that I lost so many days in between and I don't even-"

Okay. That's it.

"YOU lost a few days? I lost a WHOLE BLOODY YEAR thanks to you. And what did everybody do? They just went on with their life"

Ooh this felt pretty good. I could see all the signs of approaching tears on her face. Just needed a little push.

"And for Merlins' sake girl, you grew up in a pureblood home. Didn't Mummy Weasley ever teach you not to write in strange books that write back? Didn't Daddy Weasley ever read to you bedtime stories about being POSSESSED?"

There we go. The first few salty drops splashed onto the stone floor. Ginny Weasley stood there looking absolutely stricken, almost unable to believe that I had this much anger in me. Truth be told, I didn't really. She was just a silly girl who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and all I could muster was irritation.

"You are solely responsible for the new me, do you understand that? Although... The best thing in my life happened that year too. And then I lost that too..." Damn. I'm tearing up old wounds again.

"Gah. Come back when you've grown more sense."

"I- I- I didn't- I'm so sorry, Harry..." She sobbed before turning around and running away.

Damn. I actually feel a little guilty. Shame. And I feel like blowing something up right now.

From the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of blonde. Looking down I saw something move by the Forest. A closer look and I felt an absolutely evil grin growing on my face.

'Well, well, well. I've been waiting to have a word with you, Malfoy'

I applied a cushioning charm on myself and leapt off the tower. A silent stunner and presto, one blond ponce, ready to be served. I levitated Draco and started walking towards the deeper parts of the forest. Once we reached a part where trees for so dense that I could no longer see the sky I stopped. I drew a privacy ward around us to avoid unnecessary interruption. Then I bounded Draco to a nearby tree with conjured ropes.

"Wake up, wake up, Drakey poo" I shook his head with much more force than what was required.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked into mine. A full ten second passed before,

"POTTER! Release me now" He struggled against the ropes.

"Oh, Drakey poo. Now why would I do that?" I asked with a truly sadistic grin. His face paled as he realized the shit he was in. His eyes searched frantically for help.

"Release me now, Potter. Or I'll make sure you end up like your mudblood mother" He sneered. But his eyes betrayed him, they were full of fear.

"Tsk, tsk. Bad choice Draco. Especially considering that you can't run away because your legs are broken" I whispered.

"What are you talking about? My legs aren't broken" He sneered again.

"Oh? My mistake." I apologized and his eyes widened.

 _'osseus fragmento'_ Malfoy's cry would've attracted half the creatures of the forest if not for my wards. " _Now_ they are broken. Sorry, Forgot to do it before waking you up" I apologized.

I had a truly dark being inside my heart filled with regrets, hatred and pain. A beast they created through years of abuse. And it was reserved for my enemies only.

I waited patiently till Draco stopped howling.

"You'll pay for that, you mudblood bastard" He spat at me.

"You never learn, do you?" I sighed as I broke his other leg. He howled again in pain.

"Whoops, I'm sorry Draco. Let me cure that" I waved my wand and performed the mending charm.

He let out a cry as his bones were mended. He was whimpering now, finally realizing the gravity of the situation.

"Let me go, Potter," He pleaded. " You know you can't get away with this"

"But I can, Drake. You see, you came to the forbidden forest by your own. I did not ask you to come; in fact nobody knows I'm here. I'm sure that the creatures in this forest would appreciate pureblood meat. Who'll know what happened here if you die?" He whimpered as he watched my cold smile.

"You don't have what it takes to be a killer" His eyes betrayed his brave voice.

"Oh, but I don't have to kill you myself. I just have to leave you here like this. Do you see that trail Draco?" He nodded fearfully. "That leads to an acromatula nest. You know what those are?" I asked pleasantly.

His eyes, if possible grew wider. "What do you want?" He whined.

"Sing, Malfoy. You are going to sing like a canary. You are going to tell me everything papa Lucy told you about the chamber."

He shook his defiantly.

 _'osseus fragmento'_

"We are going to be here all night Draco. I'm just going to break your leg and mend it over and over again unless you tell me _everything_." I whispered to his ears as he cried.

"He-He told m-me the dark l-lord gave him a diary wh- which could open the chamber," He paused. I twirled my wand and he started speaking again "He said that he gave it to the smallest Weasly kid. That's all he said, I swear"

"You sure, Drakey?" I pushed my wand to his carotid. He nodded fearfully. I did a passive legilimency scan and nodded.

"Now, to the fun part of the evening" I bowed dramatically and he let out a whimper.

"I am going to ask you some questions and I'll break a finger for every question you don't start answering within five seconds. You got the rules, Draco?" I asked sweetly.

He gulped.

"That's five seconds, Drake." I shook my head as I broke his left thumb. He cried again. What a wuss.

"Yes, Yes, I get it, I get it" he shouted.

"Who gave you the idea to kill the elf?"

"Nicole, Nicole Du Couteau" He panted.

"The French witch?" I frowned.

"Yes" He nodded. I knew Malfoy never had that big a brain to plan something like that, But Nicole? Why? Moreover how did she know about Dobby?

"Start from the beginning" I ordered.

"She came to me after the welcoming ceremony. She asked me whether I wanted to get back at you. Told me to kill my elf just the day before Halloween and spike Bell's drink with a potion she gave me. "He answered as quickly and shortly as possible.

"And you didn't ask why?" The Malfoy I knew wasn't that big a stupid.

He frowned. "I trust her" He replied without any emotion. Then his fearful face came back. Then it clicked for me.

"Do you trust Nicole?" I asked.

"Yes" Again his face became expressionless for a second. A powerful compulsion charm, I realized.

"Did you meet her tonight?"

"Yes" he quickly answered.

"What did she want?"

"She wanted me to publically harass her in front of you." He has lost his will to fight by now. Coward. I wonder what he would have done if he were to spent an year with Dursley's.

"Draco, I could've gotten this information without inflicting pain upon you. You know why I didn't do that?"

He shook his head. Then remembering my instructions quickly answered, "No"

"I don't like you. You are just a bug under my boot, Draco. Know your place. I don't want to waste my precious time on something as unimportant as you. I don't make empty threats Draco. I am not the old Harry Potter. If you cross me I'll kill you. It's simple. You can understand that, can't you?" I said softly.

"Ye-Yes"

"Good. I know you are itching to tell me what your father is going to do to me once he hears this, aren't you?" I asked maliciously.

"No, No" He shook his head frantically.

"Perfect. Let's make an unbreakable vow on it, shall we? "

All hope left his eyes as he realized his situation. If he didn't agree I was going to leave him to his death, if he does then he will never be able to even lift a finger against me. Of course he did not know that I was bluffing. I may be cold, but I am not that cruel. But sometimes you have to be ruthless.

* * *

Draco was crushed psychologically and physically. He wouldn't even make eye contact. He ran as fast as he could once the vow was made. I sighed as I leaned against the now familiar tree and watched the calm cool surface of the lake. The lake looked like a giant mirror reflecting the stars and moon. I threw a rock and the ripple grew wider and wider.

"I am not broken" I whispered to myself. The viper tattoo on my shoulder flicked its tongue. Nicole wasn't a passive player hoping to gain advantage. No, she came to Hogwarts for me. She wants Draco to harass her publically so that I will be compelled to defend her. She was trying to use Draco to get closer to me. She wanted me emotionally unstable for Halloween. Halloween, the day the goblet selected the champions. Somebody had put my name on a parchment and made sure that I would be selected as a champion. So the conclusion?

Nicole de Couteau is a spy.

A spy who knew about Dobby. As far as I know only the Weasly's and Hermione knows about Dobby. So where did she get that information? That means she wasn't the only spy. Someone close to me is a spy. Nicole knew my behavior pattern, my weaknesses and knew how to exploit them. Fortunately for me, her data was on the robot, the fake persona that I had used for years. So it must have been someone closer to me, but is not close to me now. Yet they changed the tournament for me. That means they knew that I had changed but not how much. So there are at least two spies at Hogwarts. One of them is Nicole and the other is still hidden in shadows.

So Nicole is the key to solving the puzzle. And to solve Nicole I need Fleur. This just keeps on getting complicated.

* * *

"You know, life was so simple two months ago" Cedric said as he rubbed his eyes.

"You were the one complaining that it was too boring" I reminded him as I drank pumpkin juice.

"True," he sighed. "Then again, this is kind of thrilling".

"Only you Cedric, only you" I shook my head. It was two days after the "Draco" incident. I hadn't told him what exactly I had done. Just the relevant facts.

"All the professors checks out. No imposters. I don't know about Moody" Cedric said.

"You sure?" I asked.

"Yeah, look," He nodded towards the head table. "McGonagall always eat her toast before drinking the pumpkin juice, Snape likes to drink water before he eats, Flitwick places his fork on his right side, Sinistra holds the spoon between right middle finger and thump, Sprout likes to sit on that particular chair, Dumbledore likes treacle tart" he explained matter of factly.

"So that leaves Moody" I pointed out.

"Guilty until proven innocent, m'boy" Cedric imitated Dumbledore.

"Wait, The map" I exclaimed.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" I whispered. Dots and lines started appearing on the parchment but to my disappointment sitting next to Albus Dumbledore was Alastor Moody.

"Well, there goes the imposter theory" Cedric summed up.

"Ha-Harry, Can I talk to you?" A hesitant voice asked. It was _her_.

"Speak, Ginny" I said, without any hint of emotion. I felt guilty about my earlier outburst.

"I am sorry, Harry I di-"

"Look, Ginny," I said as softly as I could "I am sorry for what I said. But everything I said, I meant. I don't hate you, but it would be better if you stay away from me. You bring up a side of me that I don't want my friends to see". Her eyes started watering up.

'Uh, oh'

"Look, I believe with time we can be friends, but just not now". She nodded and walked away as fast as she could. Her red hair fanning out as she walked.

"You lied" Cedric accused.

"Yes, I can never be friends with her. She sees me not for me but for the Boy-Who-Lived. She's living in a fairy tale, Cedric .I can never be friends with her. But she doesn't have to know that. Eventually with time she'll grow up. " I explained.

"You lied, Harry" He was too noble.

"Yes. Had I not, she would have broken down. Her mind works in a different way, Cedric. Had her Prince told her that he hates her she wouldn't have been able to handle it. A lie that hurts no one is better than truth sometimes." I sighed.

"Come on, We have a show to watch" Cedric shrugged and we both walked towards the ground were a crowd was gathering. I had told Malfoy to do the show today.

"-you French whore" Malfoy shouted.

"Why you little _pu-"_ Nicole apparently was a great actor. But I decided to stop the drama.

"Hello, Draco" I said loudly. He paled visibly but remembering my instructions he started acting his part.

"Potter" he spat, trying to channel hatred but his eyes were full of terror.

"Leave the girl, Go back to your common hall" Nicole looked at me with wide eyes. _'She could give me a run for my money, she is killing her role'_

"Yeah, Go to your hidey hole, Malfoy" someone in the crowd shouted and they started sniggering. One "When my father hears about this" and "You'll pay for this, Potter" later Nicole, Cedric and I were walking towards the beuxbaton carriage.

She kept trying to catch my eye but I chatted with cedric about how Ron tried to curse Malfoy with a slug vomiting curse. Of course I was saying it to gauge her reaction. Her eyes betrayed her. She already knew the story. But how?

"Zank you, Arry" She said graciously as she stepped into the carriage. Her body language made it clear that she was frustrated. She gripped the door handle a little too tightly.

" Don't mention it" I waved it off and started walking back.

" I don't like this" Cedric's face showed how much he hated her.

"Keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer. Know why?" I asked rhetorically. "So you can curse them before they can even raise their wand."

Cedric shook his head sadly. " I hope you know what you are doing, Harry"

" So do I"

* * *

A/N: Tada. What do you think?


	12. Puzzles

The Clue

* * *

"Don't tell me you're not beautiful. You're the kind of beautiful the blind would see if we could figure out some way to give them three seconds of sight."  
― Shane Koyczan

* * *

"Good work, Mr. Potter" Flitwick commented.

I would have thanked him. But considering that I was bound, gagged and silenced all I could manage was a polite nod, which caused Cedric to laugh. Flitwick's lips twitched and he took a little more time than usual to dispel the ropes.

"Do you know where you went wrong?" He asked pleasantly. Oh, he was rubbing it in.

"Speed?" I tentatively asked.

"No, you are holding back. In dueling, whether you are learning or fighting for your life, never hold back. There are some 'dunderheads' out there who thinks that your enemy will underestimate you if hold back at the beginning of a duel. It may work if your opponent is an amateur. But an accomplished opponent won't be fooled. Do you understand?" He asked.

"Yes, sir". Despite his appearance, Filius Flitwick, is a monster when he duels. He wiped the floor when we dueled. First time we dueled, Cedric had to carry me into the hospital wing. Three broken bone, seven torn tendons and multiple bruises. Promfrey was mortified. She thought a mob had tried to kill me. Next day I carried Cedric to the Hospital wing.

"Mr. Diggory, It's your turn" Cedric gulped but nodded determinedly. He was on his back five minutes later. " I think that's enough for today, boys," Flitwick smiled " Now, come on. Say it"

"You're the best, professor" Cedric and I replied in a dull tone. It was sort of a custom. He'd wipe the floor with us and then would proceed to rub it in.

"And don't you forget it. Now off you go" He smirked.

* * *

You know what the best thing in the world is? Treacle tart. When you feel down, when the world seems like a dark place just take a bite and everything becomes brighter.

But unfortunately madam Pince didn't quite agree with that.

"Throw it out or I'll throw you out" she shrieked.

"Told you" Hermione smiled smugly across the table.

I grunted in response and waved my wand to vanish it. The stern librarian gave me a final look of disgust before going back to her seat.

"You performed the vanishing spell," Hermione whispered." That's an N.E.W.T level spell."

I raised an eye brow. I had finally mastered the art of raising the eye brow elegantly.

"Oh, Shut it. I don't even know why you are coming to classes anymore. Come off to think of it, what exactly are you doing here, Harry?" She didn't even pause to take a breath.

"Checking up on you" I replied. She gave me a McGonagall look. I squirmed a little.

"Really, I just wanted to know how you are doing" I hastily replied. "Look, can we go out? She's starting to creep me out" I nodded towards the librarian who was glaring daggers at me.

Hermione giggled and motioned me to follow her.

"So, why aren't you speaking with Ron anymore?" I asked.

"You really need to learn subtlety, Harry" She shook her head. Oh, if only she knew what I was capable of. I just gave her a version Harry she would be most comfortable with.

"You didn't answer me" I pointed out.

"We had a fall out last year. He accused that my cat ate scabbers. When I denied it he just went ballistic. And without you around we just grew apart." She said in a small voice.

"I'm sorry "I apologized sincerely.

"Don't worry, Harry. He always was a jerk towards me. I suppose its better this way." She shrugged. She had grown up. She wasn't the scared firstie running to bathroom at every insult any more. I decided to do what I had planned.

"Hermione, this is going to sound strange. I need your permission to do something. If you don't give me your consent it will be considered an offence." I said seriously.

She blushed. "Oh, Ha- Harry, I'm sorry. B-but I never liked you that way. You are like a br-brother to me." She stammered.

"What? I was going to ask your permission to legilimence you" I gawked. What the hell did she think I was?

"Oh! Thank god," She sighed. Then registering my words," WHAT DO YOU MEA-"I clamped my hands over her mouth to stop her from shouting.

" I am not going to mind rape you. I just need to know whether I can trust you or not" I stated, calmly.

She looked at me with wide eyes and after some time nodded. She hugged me the moment I withdrew my hand from her mouth. I stiffened at the contact.

"Of course you dummy, you can always trust me. " She sniffed. Then after a moment she collected herself and looked into my eyes.

"Eye contact is needed, Right? I read about legilimency when I researched for extra-"

"Hermione" I shook her shoulders.

"What?"

"Shut up."

"Oh" She blushed, apparently embarrassed.

Her chocolate brown eyes looked into mine. She had no occlumency shields .I felt her fierce loyalty to me. I withdrew my probe and saw her eyes watering up.

"I had to be sure, Hermione. I'm sorry" I hugged her.

"Boys" she muttered.

"Girls" I countered. We chuckled.

"So, are you going to tell me what rules are we going to break now?" She asked.

"What do you take me for? A vigilante who has no trust whatsoever in authority figures?" I scoffed.

She raised an eyebrow.

"Fine, you got me" I raised my hands in surrender. _'Ten different faces in ten different mirrors'_

* * *

"Why not?" Fred whined.

"It's not right." Cedric answered in a no nonsense tone.

"It's the best way to ensure their cooperation." I joked.

"You can't just kidnap a merman, Harry" Hermione condescended.

"We think-

"Harry dear-

"Has a point" the twins chipped in.

"Look, we know the task is going to be held underwater, we know the mermen are involved and that they are going to take someone as a hostage. This way we can make sure that our hostage won't be harmed no matter what." Fred explained again for the umpteenth time.

"Or they'll just kill your hostage" Hermione argued back.

"They won't. Not if we take the merchief's wife as the hostage." George smirked and Hermione flinched.

"How are you going to kidnap her?" Cedric asked, his curiosity getting better of him.

"Poly juice potion, gillyweed-

"Hair from Snape, translation charm-

"Summoning charm." They grinned evilly.

"It could work" Hermione mused.

"It will work" George assured her.

"Even if it fails, snape will get in trouble" Cedric grinned.

"Oooh! Snape, Mermaid and a summoning charm," Fred smirked "Just think about the possible jokes we can come up with it"

"We should make a cartoon strip and publish it on the Prophet" George mused.

"Or the Quibbler"

"Please, Harrykin. We will be eternally grateful. Just say the word." They pleaded with puppy dog eyes.

"I'll think about it," I offered and made a mental note to lock up my poly juice potion. "So, is peeves on board with the plan?"

"Yep, he's gonna make other champions task a hell. We had to give up two dozen of our special dung bombs though. "George whined.

" mmhm. Did you find a map of the lake, Hermione?" Cedric asked.

"No, though I made a rough sketch using the clues spread across these books," she pointed towards a stack of book about Hogwarts history. "The colony is supposed to be located near the north east corner of the lake. Authors are vague about the exact location. " She extracted a map from her bag.

"So, we need somebody to map the lake. " Fred peered at the map over my shoulder.

"Yeah, we can't waste our gillyweed" Cedric agreed

"Myrtle." I beamed.

"Moaning Myrtle? Why would she help us? "Hermione asked curiously.

"He used his charm on her, obviously" George wiggled his eyebrows.

"May be I don't want to know" Hermione looked like she was going to puke.

"Yeah" Cedric agreed.

* * *

Later that day I was sitting at my favorite spot when Fleur found me. She smiled radiantly when she saw me.

"Can I sit?" She asked.

"Why not?" I shrugged. I still don't know what kind of tree it is. It looked like the silver maple but the bark was far too smooth and the flowers were a bright silver color.

"Zis place is connected to your 'eart, _non?"_ she asked , while examining the grass.

"mmhm" this spot, Tam, is my anchor. I can almost feel her here. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. A pleasant aroma teased my nose, Fleur.

"I'm tired, 'Arry." She yawned as she lay down.

"You are going to sleep now?" I asked incredulously.

"Oui, you can too. We can talk when we wake up" she murmured.

"Has anyone ever told you that you sleep too much?" I asked, curiously.

She didn't answer. She was asleep, ten seconds in and she was asleep. I looked around. There was absolutely no one around.

"To hell with it" I muttered as I closed my eyes laid on the grass. The moist cool grass tickled my skin. Soon I was asleep too.

Somebody was poking my nose. I woke up and saw Fleur using a stick to poke me.

"Seriously, a stick?" I glared.

"Some people get violent when zey are woken up," she explained. "You drool when you sleep"

"I don't" Me, the great Harry potter drooling? Ha, in your dreams.

She pointed towards my chin.

"It's not mine" I whined.

"Really?" She asked, amused.

"Yeah, well you snore when you sleep" I replied smugly.

"I do not" She huffed.

"Yes, you do"

Then I had a sudden flashback.

 _Did not"_

 _"Did too"_

 _Argh! This girl's going to be the death of me._

 _"Fine, I'm sorry for giving you a birthday gift" 'Hah! Take that'_

 _"Nope. Not gonna work on me"_

 _"Alright. I am sorry for manipulating you, which did not work by the way, and calling you Tam." I pouted._

 _"Hey, you can call me Tam"_

Tam. The last time I behaved like this was with Tam.

" 'ello, anybodu 'ome?" fleur was waving her hands.

"Yeah, Sorry. Just zoned out for a second." I apologized. Fleur Delacour is the fish that can never be caught. The forbidden fruit. You just can't figure her out. I have absolutely no idea whether she is acting or not. On the outside she is a lazy, bored, and nice person. Is she really like that? Can the next in line for French mafia don be really that nice?

HELL NO.

Conclusion: I don't have a clue.

"I need information on Nicole" I stated bluntly. She looked like she had expected it.

"Why do you zink zat I'll give you information about my fellow champion which may possibly affect the outcome of the tournament?" She mused.

"One, you don't like her. Two, you are not here to win the tournament. Three, you want me on your side." I counted off my fingers. She chuckled.

"Two out of three, 'Arry," She shook her head as If she was disappointed.

I kept my silence. What was I wrong about?

She screwed up her face apparently concentrating. "Hmpf. Let's see. Muggleborn, orphan, addicted to dark arts, perfect records at school, good in transfiguration, spends summer at an orphanage in Paris. Many acquaintances, No friends"

"Not enough" I said dryly.

"Zis is all you can get for free," She replied haughtily." Besides, I have got her covered. You should focus on ze obvious, 'Arry" .

The obvious? What does she mean? But before I could ask she stood up.

"Best of luck for ze second task, 'Arry" She smiled sincerely, Or so it seemed.

"Same to you, Fleur"

As I watched her leave towards the beuxbaton carriage I felt something trying to enter my mind. I looked around and recognized what was causing it. A repelling ward. Somebody was making people move away from the lake. I disillusioned myself and walked towards the source ward.

About twenty wizards were hurriedly building stands for audience near the south corner of the lake.. Wizards usually put everything off untill the last moment. So, that means the second task is up on us.

* * *

The next day at breakfast Ludo Bagman announced rather dramatically that the second task would begin in an hour. The students were surprised. I saw Krum Scowling and Vladimir snapping at his classmate. The French witches looked surprised but not overly so. We were asked to follow bagman to the Lake.

"So, are you lot surprised?" He asked cheerfully.

"….."

"Er, Yeah. So I hope you have solved the clue. If you haven't then, er, it's going to be difficult." He shrugged.

"Is this guy for real?" Cedric whispered.

"Excuse me, monsieur Bagman. We haven't solved our clues completely. "Nicole gave him puppy dog eyes.

"What? Not you guys too?" He looked at us. Cedric shrugged.

"Any way, Barty will be explaining the clue." He nodded towards the corner where Barty Crouch was standing, masked by shadows.

"Your clue was in mermish, which can't be heard above water," Crouch said in a bored tone.

 _'Come seek us where our voices sound,_

 _We cannot sing above the ground,_

 _And while you're searching, ponder this:_

 _We've taken what you'll sorely miss,_

 _Just once you've stood, not eye to eye,_

 _Now seek that bond, 'fore the end is nigh,_

 _An hour long you'll have to look,_

 _And to recover what we've took,_

 _But past an hour – the prospect's black,_

 _Too late, it's gone, it won't come back'_

"This was the clue hidden inside the egg" He finished.

"Vy is it in English?" Vladimir growled.

"What?" Bagman was baffled. Oh, this is going to be good, I thought to myself.

"Ve do not speak English properly," Krum nodded towards the French champions. "Only Hogwarts speak English. Vy is the clue in English?" He asked in butchered English.

"Er, I, "Bagman looked at Crouch for help.

"It does not matter. You could have asked people to help you. Anyway you know the clue now. Something will be taken from you and to recover it you must journey to the deepest reaches of this lake in order to find it within an hour." Crouch answered in a no nonsense tone.

"You mean someone" Fleur corrected.

"Vat do you mean by not eye to eye?" Krum asked, looking confused.

"Well, you know, **not** eye to eye kind of means back to back" Bagman chipped in.

"No, eet doesn't" Nicole argued back.

"What exactly do you mean by back to back?" Cedric asked. Bagman beamed and I somehow knew I wasn't going to like whatever he was going to say.

"Well, who got your back?" He asked rhetorically. "Your fellow champion, of course"

"What?" Krum all but shouted.

"You are going to save your fellow champion from the lake. You can decide who is going to be the, er, hostage. The rescuer will need to overcome certain obstacles before doing the actual rescuing" Bagman slashed his boyish grin. He really was an idiot. Fleur had an unnatural snarl on her face. It sent shivers down my spine. Why the fool was still smiling I didn't know.

"So, we'll give you five minutes to yourselves. Decide by then who is going to do what. If you haven't decided by then you will be disqualified. "Crouch added dryly as he left the room.

"Do give a show" Bagman winked and followed Crouch.

I turned and saw Cedric Frowning.

"That was unexpected" I stated calmly.

"You are the best shot at winning" He stated bluntly.

"But, my enemies will be counting on that. They will be targeting the rescuer. "I frowned. This was bad. What to do? Walk deliberately into a trap or let Cedric walk into it? Old me would have never allowed him to do that. Hmm. What to do?

Five minutes later Crouch entered the room.

"So, those who are going to be hostages please come over here." He instructed.

Krum and Nicole walked forward. Crouch looked us Cedric and I.

Cedric walked forward. Fleur looked at me with wide eyes.

"So, when you hear the whistle you can come out," He nodded towards Fleur, Vladimir and I." You three follow me" Crouch instructed dryly.

Cedric nodded at me and left without a word. He will be a sitting duck; he trusts me to save his life.I had planned extensively for this task and mathematically I had the better chance at finishing it safely. Logic over emotions, I hid my emotions under my occlumency barriers. Fleur had a blank face devoid of any emotions indicating that she too was using occlumency. Romanoff stood there impassively like a statue.

Few minutes later a sharp whistle broke the unnatural silence in the room. We walked briskly towards the lake.

There were two large structures with at least 4 levels standing in the middle of the lake, complete with a platform which was connecting the two together. The boats the first years used to cross the lake were floating just in front of us. Bagman motioned us to go on. As soon as we stepped in a boat it began moving towards the platform. My eyes were picking up everything from the slight twitch of Vladimir's left eye to the way Fleur gripped her wand.

Once we reached the platform the boats stopped and Fleur gingerly got onto it, ignoring the creaking of the wood. Bloody hell, it was cold. I waved my wand and transfigured my clothes to a bright red swimming trunk. To my right Vladimir followed suit. Next to him I looked like David to Goliath. I had a fairly well built body, but he was huge. Hours of dueling had defined my muscles. I Saw Fleur had changed her attire too. She had a wet suit on causing disappointed groans from the male population in the audience. Fleur had an unnatural scowl on her face. I reached for my tattoo unconsciously as cameras started flashing. The viper raised its head and tilted its head just like Tam used to do. Like a ray of light in a dark room, hope and determination cleansed the doubt away from my heart.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, It is almost time to start the second task of the Triwizard tournament. Each champion must journey to the deepest reaches of this lake in order to rescue their fellow champion within an hour." Bagman bellowed in his magically enhanced voice. "We still have about 30 seconds left until 10 so wands at the ready then." Bagman was counting down the time and at the last 10 seconds the crowd joined in too.

"5…4…3…2…1…BEGIN!"

I quickly started chewing the gillyweed as Fleur and Vladimir Jumped straight in. Out of the corner of my eye I noted that they both had used bubblehead charm. I felt a stabbing pain in my lungs and I knew the transformation was about to begin, so I jumped right into the lake. The moment I went underwater the sound of the audience grew muffled. My neck grew gills and my flippers replaced my feet. The only downside of using gillyweed was that I couldn't speak underwater. But the advantages outweighed the disadvantage. Being able to swim fast was crucial considering the time limit.

The first thing I saw pleased me. Vladimir was being attacked by Peeves. Peeves was pulling Vladimir's hair and poking his nose. Being a poltergeist he was able to do so without breaking the bubble around Vladimir's head.

I sent a silent stunner at him and presto, he was knocked out.

"Ickle Harry, That was a bad thing to do" Peeves gleefully scolded me. I gave him a two finger salute which meant that our deal was done. The twins had done the negotiations with Peeves. One champion for two dozen dung bomb.

Peeves grinned evilly and blew a raspberry as he left. Apparently poltergeists can do that even underwater. Mhmmm. I twirled my wand as I examined Vladimir for any injuries.

I was not going to leave Vladimir like this and leave Krum to his death. No, Vladimir was my decoy. I applied a Glamour charm on him to look like me. Now he had jet black hair like me and had a bright red swimming trunk. I charmed it so that the glamour would work on others only, to him nothing would be out of ordinary. Then I changed my trunk colors to a dark grey color and put a glamour charm on me as well. I was basically putting a hit on him, but I need to exploit every available options.

I swam a twenty meters away from him before enervating him. I will be out of his eyesight before he comes around. I had ordered Myrtle to map the lake. Since I had bounded her as my slave she didn't object to that. Besides it's not like she has anything better to do.I didn't waste any time and swam straight towards my destination.

Or rather I tried to.

About thirty or so Grindylows were blocking my path. Water demons, I scoffed.

' _Reducto'_

A brick red beam shot from the tip of my wand and obliterated three grindylows at once. The remaining ones realized that I was not to be trifled with and started attacking me at once.

They circled around me and snarled at me. Weak idiots, I thought to myself. I would have been merciful if it were any other time. But Cedric was in danger and I had no time to spare.

' _Agua animus'_

The water around me suddenly started heating up. Except for a small sphere of water surrounding me, it started boiling. Five lions made up of water, so transparent that you need to concentrate real hard to see them, pounced on the Grindylows. In under a minute every single one of them was dead.

"The colony is that way, Master" I was startled by a shy voice.

Moaning myrtle was pointing her finger towards my left. Even though I had asked her not to call me master she insists upon it. I shuddered at the implications.

I nodded and swam fast towards the direction she pointed. Myrtle tried to follow me like a lost puppy but I ordered her to leave me alone. She pouted before going back into the castle. I passed over long light-green weeds that rose up at least several meters from the lake bed. Few minutes passed and I started hearing that haunting melody. As I swam on I realized the lake was going deeper than I originally thought. I couldn't even see the surface anymore. The melody was getting louder and louder until finally,

 _And while you're searching ponder this_

Don't get me wrong, I like music, but this song was getting on my nerves. The melancholy in it irks me. Kicking faster I sped up. The area ahead of me gradually got lighter until I finally caught sight of small rocky structures with merpeople around them. As soon as they saw me they started screeching.

The merpeople looked exactly like normal humans-from the waist up. Instead of legs they had powerful fish tails. The males looked handsome, yet their faces carried subtle hints that showed they were not human. Their faces were more angular and more streamlined unlike the rough features of humans. They also carried deadly looking spears. The Females had an unnatural beauty and were leering at me. Mermaids have similar powers like Veela. One could even say that they are the underwater counter parts.

Ever heard muggle stories where fishermen are lured by mermaids and then eaten alive? Yep, these creatures despite their appearance consider human flesh a delicacy. I saw one mermaid licking her lip and winking at me seductively. She opened her mouth and started to sing.

One word summed it up. Magical.

The song of mermen is thousand times more powerful than a Veela's allure. That kind of magic can't be countered by occlumency. It was primal in nature. Lust, the song caused its victim to drown in lust. I hastily casted a silence charm on my ears. It was modified one. It eliminated the magic in their song. I made a mental note to thank Terry again. Without his help I would have had to cast a wide area silencing charm rendering me dumb. This one just eliminates the enthralling magic of the mermen. Did these fools think they were capable of controlling me?

CONTROL _ME_?

I will not bow down to anyone. One mermaid pouted at me and motioned me to come towards her seductively _._ I snarled and my wand tip glowed an eerie green color displaying my disgust. She paled and stopped singing.

I slashed my wand and they parted as if parried by an invisible arm. Then I saw three people tied to a rock. But something massive stood between me and them.

A sea serpent.

A massive sea serpent about fifty feet long was coiled around the rock. Its eyes were locked on me. It opened its mouth and I saw numerous fangs and a huge forked tongue. I was not scared in the least.

How can a _sea_ serpent survive in a lake? Did they think that I was going to fall for that shit?

Illusion. The serpent was an illusion. I nearly snorted when I realized who made the illusion.

Fleur.

I could taste her magic coming off from the illusion. It bellowed impressively and snapped its jaws at me. I merely shrugged and swam straight through it. When I reached the rock I saw that instead of Nicole a severely bruised and bleeding merman wearing a cloth that resembled beuxbaton uniform was tied to the rock. Krum and Cedric were sleeping. Small bubbles escaped from their nose. I looked around but saw no sign of Vladimir. I severed the rope tying Cedric to the rock and pointed my wand at him.

 _"Levare"_

We were both propelled toward the surface _._ I hastily chewed the antec leaves to counter the gillyweed and dispelled the glamour before we would break the surface. The moment we broke the surface Cedric woke up and gasped for fresh air. Loud cheers and screams filled the air.

"The princess is awake" I commented as we swam towards the platform.

"Please tell me that you didn't kiss me" Cedric mock glared.

"Drink this, " Madam Pomfrey pushed a goblet into his hand and started waving her wand and muttering diagnostics spells on him. He pushed her away but she forcefully pushed him into a bed. She glared at me, daring me to say anything. I simply raised my hands in surrender as she turned towards me to check my vitals. After five minutes she declared we were 'fine for now'.

"So, what happened? What did I miss?" he asked excitedly as I opened the tent flap.

"Nothing. Only a few grindylows" I whispered, Nicole was watching us.

"Nothing else?" He frowned.

It was rather strange. Why wasn't the task harder? This one was much much easier than the first. Maybe the challenge was to solve the clue. But still,

"Did you use Romanoff as decoy?" he asked quietly, looking around.

"Yeah, but-"I was interrupted by Fleur.

" 'Ow did you know eet was an illusion?" Fleur asked. Ha, her pride is wounded.

"It wasn't that good an illusion" I decided to irk her. But it was ruined by Cedric.

"She finished first?" Cedric shouted incredulously. Fleur beamed and pinched my nose.

"Better luck next time, 'Arry"

Argh. Who did she think she was? Using passive aggression against me? I was not going to fall for _that_ bait.

"She likes you" Cedric whispered in my ear.

"Yeah" I snorted.

"I am the one with eidetic memory, idiot. I can see it" He chided.

"And she's dangerous. You can't read her, Cedric. Trust me, you can't. She's not what she seems to be." I replied seriously.

"You like her" He accused.

I shook my head. "No, I respect her and recognize her. She's dangerous, Ced"

Suddenly screams filled the air. I rushed out of the tent and Cedric followed me. Audiences were screaming. About ten merpeople armed with spears were viciously attacking Vladimir. There were at least twenty grindylows helping them. Vladimir's right forearm was missing. He was bleeding profusely. Still he was trying to swim towards the shore. Krum was trying his best to keep the beasts away. But curiously, none were attacking him. They were all focused on Vladimir. The ministry wizards were shooting stunning spell at the merpeople. Soon the audience began helping them. Pomfrey hurried past us and rushed to Vladimir's aid. Since it wasn't a curse wound she could probably grew the arm back. But she needs to be fast or the blood lost and oxygen deprivation will cause permanent damage. Dumbledore arrived in a flash of phoenix flame and he and Pomfrey along with Vladimir was gone in another flash, probably to saint Mungo's .

"So, that must have been meant for you" Cedric looked conflicted. On one hand I was safe. On the other we basically did that to Vladimir. I didn't say anything. It was his choice. If he wants to leave, I won't ask him to stay.

"We need to find the bastard before someone else gets hurt" Cedric said determinedly. I suddenly felt a lump in my throat. He wasn't going to abandon me. A sudden feeling of gratitude overwhelmed me. I opened my mouth but Cedric cut me off.

"Don't say it, Harry. I know what I had signed up for. I'm a Hufflepuff. And we pride ourselves for being loyal. Plus I know you would do the same for me" He said it like we were discussing the weather.

This guy just risked his life for me and was ready to do it again. Will I do the same for him when the time comes?

Yes.

From that moment an unspoken agreement was made. We would have each other's back, No matter what happens.

Ofcource the moment had to be spoiled.

"Harrykin-

"Dear Harrykin-

"Oh my sweetie,Ced"

The twins rushed towards us and started wailing dramatically. Fred hugged Cedric and George was fussing over me like a mother fussing over her kid.

"Thank Merlin! He's okay, George" Fred sighed rather dramatically.

"Why are you doing this?" I shrugged George off. I can see Fleur trying not to laugh. She looks angelic when she laughs, I thought. Wait, what? where did that come from?

"You lost" Fred accused.

"You said you would win" George added his two knuts.

"No, I said _we_ would win the _tournament_. " I corrected him.

" _Tomato_ , _Tomahto,_ " they sing sang together." Come on, let's get out of here. She is freaking me out" George whispered loudly nodding towards Nicole.

Her eyes narrowed.

They did not take kindly to the fact that she was a spy. They seem to have made her persona non grata. It took three hours of persuading from Cedric and me to stop them from exposing her. In the end they agreed to follow my plan but on one condition. They should be allowed to antagonize her as much as they could. Cedric was only too happy to side with them and I was out voted.

" _imbéciles dégoûtantes"_ she muttered under her breath.

After her initial plan to befriend me had failed horribly she had changed her attitude. She knows now that I am not the idiot I once was. It threw a wrench in her plans. Now she was planning something else. But unknown to her, I was ten steps ahead of her. She has no idea who she's playing against. In the grant scheme of plans she is just a pawn. When the time comes pawns shall be reaped first. She should have chosen her side more carefully before deciding to spy on me. It's obvious that she is working for someone ruthless. I decided to start mission French fries.

"Oh, just ignore them, Nicole or you'll get a headache, Trust me " I flashed my most charming smile.

That baffled her. I can almost see the gears turning in her head. Fleur yawned rather loudly and stood up, breaking the sudden silence that followed my words.

"What?" She asked a little too innocently.

I shook my head. "See you later, Nic" I winked and gestured Cedric to follow me. Once we exited the tent he turned around to face me.

"You sure it's time to start?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah, I was waiting for a confirmation. _Once_ is happenstance. _Twice_ is _coincidence_. Three times is enemy action. First the cup then the first task and now Vladimir. It's happening, Ced. There's no denying it. "I said firmly.

"We thought so too" I have never seen twins being this much serious before.

Suddenly a phoenix flame appeared in the judge's box and when it was gone Dumbledore stood elegantly in its place. Theatrics has a huge power over the sheep. The other judges hurried over to Dumbledore and they began conversing furiously. After fifteen minutes of animated conversation they seem to have made a decision. Karakaroff was looking rather sour.

"The scores are being announced," Krum grunted. He was standing with his back against the tent. For someone who had just seen his fellow champion's arm being ripped off he seems pretty much calm.

"So eet seem," Fleur replied

''You were there first?'' Krum asked, looking sour.

"For being the first champion to return with the help of an exceptional bubblehead charm and illusions to confuse other champions, we give beuxbaton forty four points. " Bagman announced and the audience cheered.

"Zey must 'ave took points off because of zat merman" Fleur sounded disappointed but not surprised.

"Why?" I asked curiously.

"Later" she looked truly demonic for a second. Cedric Flinched and I saw Nicole's eyes narrowing.

"Mr. Potter used gillyweed to breathe underwater. Further, According to the Mercheif, He used some kind of spell to overcome the siren song. He finished second and wasn't a bit fooled by the illusion set up by the beuxbaton champion," I gave Fleur a smug smirk. "We award Hogwarts forty points"

She smirked back.

"Must have been for killing those Grindylows" I mused. There was no way for them to know about the glamour charm. Except for Dumbledore, that is. I should be expecting a summons soon.

"Mr. Romanoff too used bubblehead charm. But lady luck was not with him today. He was attacked throughout the task by various creatures we had placed in the lake. The other champions barely had any encounter with them. By the time he had reached the colony, according to the Mermen, and I'm quoting here, 'He was shooting spells at anything that moved'. Three mermen were killed and they were forced to retaliate. But considering the herculean effort and the bravery we award Durmstrang thirty eight points. Also, we are happy to announce that he suffered no permanent injuries. According the healers at Mungo's he should be able to participate in the third task" Bagman was almost skipping with joy when he announced the last bit.

Fools. They only care about the tournament.

"That's it fellas. We'll see you all again for the third task. Keep on cheering your champions" He finished up and the audience started dispersing.

"HARRY" Hermione shouted trying to gain my attention. A large crowd was moving towards our direction.

"You take this one Ced." I shoved him towards the crowd as I disillusioned myself.

"Come on, It's me" I grabbed Hermione and started moving towards the castle.

"You were amazing Harry! I didn't know how you got through without getting attacked by anything. I am not saying the Grindylows are nothing, last year we had to fight them in an obstacle course professor Lupin created, He was a good teacher by the way, But Moody is good too. A bit rough, but he _knows_ it. You should come to his classes more often, Harry," She took a second to catch her breath. Merlin, She had good pair of lungs on her.

"Anyway, What was I saying, Harry?" She asked, Confused.

"Lack of monsters trying to kill me" I replied in a dull tone.

"Oh, Yes. We both know you have rotten luck. So?" she half asked, half ordered. But I was saved from answering by Filch.

"What are you doin here?" Filch asked, His eyes narrowing. It was a funny scene to behold. A fourth year trying hard to make excuses for babbling to empty air and a squib care taker itching to punish the aforementioned student by whipping. Hmm I wonder …..A good theme for a,um, NOO. That's a disturbing thought.

"Well? Get outta my sight" He growled and Hermione obeyed all too happily. I did hear him grumbling about 'stupid students'.

"So," once we were in the room of requirement she turned towards me, tapping her foot impatiently.

"So what?" I think I may have pushed her too far because she shot a volley of stinging hexes at me. On instinct I pulled my wand out and shot three curses before I could stop myself.

Hermione was lying on the ground. I had jerked my wand aside at the last second so the bombarda missed her by about three meter. But still, she was knocked off her feet.

"Hermione, are you okay?" I frantically rushed to her aid.

"Yeah, Just a bit bruised. " she grunted. Then she did what she always does. She hugged met. I stiffened but didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I shouldn't have cursed you. " She apologized. I started to say something but she cut me off.

No, I need to say this Harry. Ever since you came back I- I… How do I say this?" she took a deep breath."It's just that I don't know how to help you anymore. You always came to me for planning something and learning. But now you that you know exactly what to do, Harry. Hell, you know everything. And I'm afraid you'll leave me, Harry. I'm just a nerd. And now you don't need a nerd to help you. So, I'm useless." She started crying as she exposed her dark fears.

"You know, for a nerd, you're acting rather idiotic right now" I flicked her nose rather painfully.

"I know" She started crying again.

"No, you don't. You are here now because you are my friend, Hermione. Just because I don't tell you everything or acts independent doesn't mean that you are not. I won't tell you everything because you are not ready for them. And even when you are ready, I'll keep some of it to myself. But before you jump to conclusions like I don't need you, discuss it with me. "I ruffled her bushy hair.

"Mmmhm" She nodded unable to say anything.

"Good. Because I need you. Never forget that. I am not doing everything the noble way Hermione. My hands are stained with blood. You don't need to know the horrors. Everyone has their role to play. But I won't let you be damaged by dark truths. "I looked directly in to her eyes.

"You mean truth about people like Dumbledore?" she asked with a hint of disgust.

"Much worse, dear. It's better if you don't know. Just know that you will always be my friend, Hermione," I helped her to her feet.

"So, Now that I have helped you recover from your mental breakdown and have consoled you in a manner that would have made even a psychologist jealous of, can I ask you a question?" I puffed my chest out as I asked her.

Her lips twitched as she nodded.

"Do you fancy Filch?"

"HARRY" she shrieked as I ran.

* * *

"Good work on the second task" Nott shook my hand as I entered the potion class. Malfoy flinched when he saw me. Nott noticed it.

"You planned all this, didn't you?" He asked quietly.

"Planned what?" I was setting up my equipments.

"You purposefully allied me, then somehow made Malfoy your bitch, publically humiliated him, made his power in Slytherin crumple, So that your ally can have the throne of Slytherin" He replied as he collected the ingredients.

"Do I look like I a person who plans that much ahead? " I countered and started chopping my belladonna flower. He was prodding for information. He wants to be the alpha.

"No,you don't. That's what makes you dangerous. You are hiding in plain sight. Waiting to strike, aren't you?" He asked trying to put up a brave front.

" It depends," I shrugged.

"On what?"

"Whether you want to be on the other side or not" I said coldly and Malfoy fliched again as Nott's knife clattered on the floor.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Nott?" Snape asked, barely audible.

"N-No, Sir" He replied hastily. Nott was clumsy throughout the period. He kept on glancing at me as though I was going to attack him any moment. I kept my face devoid of any emotion. When the bell rang he looked at me, silently asking for permission to leave. He had finally realized his position. We were allies, but he knows now that I can crush him in an instant if I want to.I nodded and he left as fast as he could.

"Potter, stay back" Snape spat.

Hermione looked at me and mouthed 'I'll be waiting outside' as she left.

"The head master wants to have a meeting with you after dinner tonight. He said he would like if you were to bring him acid pops." The look on his face when he said that was absolutely priceless.

"If that's what he wants then I shall oblige him" I said softly but my voice had a cold edge to it. Snape paled when he heard me and clutched his left forearm , where I knew a dark mark was tattooed.

"If that's all, Professor…''

"Get out" He whispered softly. And with Snape that was never a good thing. I had unnerved him. I smirked as I left the dungeon.

"Uh, gawds" Hermione moaned when she saw me. "You are going to shake the hornets' nest, aren't you?" She said wearily.

I beamed.


	13. The Clue

Murphy's Law

* * *

"I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the heart's affections, and the truth of imagination."

-John Keats

* * *

"Albus, my man" I exclaimed merrily as I barged into his office.

"Ah, Harry. I assume you are going to use sarcasm to annoy me" His eyes were twinkling with mirth.

' _Bugger'_

I can't even have a bit of fun. I thought I could annoy him at least a bit, but instead he's amused.

"Do you know why I called you, Harry?" He motioned me to take a seat.

I triple checked my occlumency shields and gripped my wand before sitting down. His left eyebrow twitched slightly. According to Cedric that means he is apprehensive.

"I have some theories" I was not going to fall for such silly trap.

"You have grown up, Harry" He commented. He was trying to gauge me.

"Nutrition potions" I replied.

He smiled at my cold reply. Yet, I noticed that he still had his wand gripped tightly.

"Is this about Vladimir?" I asked, hoping to stop the beating around the bush.

" I know what you did to Vladimir, Harry," He started.

"Are you accusing me of attacking a tri wizard champion? " I countered.

"You and I both know that the magic of goblet will prevent champions from hurting one another _directly"_ he emphasized in the last word and peered at me over his half moon glass.

"So, according to the tri wizard rules, I did nothing wrong" I pointed out.

"Quite," He nodded and started sucking on a lemon candy.

Bugger, he knows that I had something to do with it.

"If you are going to give me a lecture on humanity, save it." I decided to get on with the topic.

"On the contrary Harry, I was going to say that you did a remarkable job," He remarked merrily. Then he looked straight into my eyes.

His whole manner just changed in a manner of seconds. Gone was the kind and slightly mad grandfather. In front of me sat a titan, cold and ruthless, a war veteran.

"I don't know what changed you, my boy. But I have lived long enough to identify _what_ you have become. " His blue eyes were piercing into mine.

"And pray tell me, professor, what am I?" I pulled my wand out of my pocket.

"Well, to begin with, you are not a horcrux anymore and you know now that I was preparing you so that when the time came you would have sacrificed your life without a second thought" He stated calmly.

I was surprised; I never thought he would say something like that. Even though I had hidden my emotions behind my occlumency shields, my magic recognized my distress. Instinctively it flared up to protect me from any potential threat, which, in this case was Dumbledore.

Emerald flames covered my body and a stream of it shot towards Dumbledore. But he was ready for it; he merely let his own aura flared up. A crimson red phoenix flamed in between us.

Fawkes trilled trying to ease the tension that was building up in the room. But we ignored him. I was looking Dumbledore in the eye, my wand pointing towards his heart.

Surprisingly he held his wand loosely at his side. But I was not fooled, despite this age Dumbledore is the best duelist in the world right now. And unlike last time I don't exactly have an element of surprise.

"I thought so," He nodded when my sudden reaction confirmed his guess.

"I knew you would deduce it sooner or later. I hoped it would be later." I replied, not without taking my eyes off him.

"Hope is a luxury we cannot afford, dear boy. You'll learn that soon enough," He turned and gazed the stars through the window. I raised my wand a little bit and placed my left foot forward, a dueling stance for aggressive attacking. I knew this day would come. There are so many outcomes. So many ways this could go.

"I do not intent to harm you, Harry. I know that you must have taken precautions before coming here. So, let's discuss this" He pressed on.

Indeed I had taken precautions. Three time delayed messages to three different trusted persons was prepared before I entered the office. Further the twins and Cedric was waiting in the room of requirement ready to barge in at any moment. All it takes is patronus.

"How long?" I asked.

"As you have no doubt guessed, after our last encounter I was afraid that Riddle had influenced or taken over you. I don't think there's a need to explain what a horcrux is to you," He looked over his shoulders at me.

"One would be right to think so, yes" I replied, still not taking my wand or eyes off him.

"So I discreetly observed you. Your behavior, speech pattern, even your body language had changed rather drastically. Slytherin cunningness on a scale I have not seen since Riddle. So, I came to the conclusion that you must have been influenced by Riddle's horcrux down in the chamber. Yet the instruments I build to monitor your life force told me that you were fine. In fact, they showed that the horcrux in your scar was no more. You acted as if I was your enemy, as if you knew that I had planned for your demise. You knew that I knew about your scar. That left me with one conclusion; you woke up much earlier than you have told me. Something happened, but I am not yet sure what. You lied outright when I enquired about your near death accident. It was rather convincing, I must say. Something even Riddle was unable to get away with me. By the time our second meeting took place I was aware that you were no longer a horcrux. So I gave you the prophecy and my interpretation of it. I wanted to see how you were going to react to it"

This was not going the way I want to. I had underestimated him, and now I was going to pay for my mistake. He is thinking that I have turned dark. I was only seconds away from sending a patronus when,

"Then you disappeared into the chamber. When you came back you had a constant look of melancholy in your eyes, a sudden need to up your ante, you started making connection, allies," he paused

"You started preparing for a war"

He turned around to face me. The portraits in the room were as still as possible.

The gears in my heads were turning. Cold and logical, this meeting has the potential to save or raze the world.

Observation: He hasn't made a single move against me.

Conclusion: He needs me

Observation: He knows that I am preparing for something, yet he hasn't done anything against me.

Conclusion: He wants me to ally with him.

"As are you" I replied and he nodded. I lowered my wand.

"This may seem a little childish, but call it a teacher's curiosity. How did you deduce it?" he asked as he sat down on his throne like chair.

"One, you are using this tournament to increase your political power and allies. Two, you haven't tried to meddle in my affairs till now, meaning that you want me on your side, so that you may have more political leverage using my fame. Three, you just gave your advantage away by telling me this. Since I am the only one that can kill Voldemort and the fact that you gave information voluntarily implies that he is coming back sooner than you have expected" I stated and sat down opposite to him.

"Yes, but one could argue that I could have done this for some other purpose" He was playing the devil's advocate.

"And they would be right" I replied coldly.

"You don't trust me" said Dumbledore calmly.

I let out a hollow laugh.

" Of course I don't trust you, Just as you don't trust me. You raised me as a cattle waiting to be slaughtered, you bastard. Nothing could ever change the fact. You deliberately made my life hell so that when the time comes I would sacrifice it without a thought . We are having this conversation because you know now that I am not a horcrux anymore. Now, you need the Boy-Who-Lived on your side." I spat.

"Yes" He looked ashamed of himself.

"And why should I?" I asked without any emotions.

"I won't ask for your forgiveness again, Harry. I know that I do not have the right to ask. But still, I would not change the past. It's the truth. One life for thousands, In a war the choice is clear," Dumbledore closed his eyes and buried his face under his long fingered hands.

"That one life is mine, Dumbledore. If you had stopped wallowing over your sister's death and stopped giving second chance to murderers and rapists then you would have never had to make that choice in the first place" I snarled. His eyes radiated cold fury for a second before it was replaced by pain.

"I couldn't Harry, that is not who I am. I never asked to be burdened with power, I feared power. Yet, when the time came, I had to bear that burden or else had to watch the world burn. I am sorry for everything, Harry, You can't possibly know the pain I went through, when I placed you on their door step," He looked at me, waiting for me to snap at him.

What should I say? Should I curse him? Should I destroy his office?

No, what purpose would that serve?

"I became a hypocrite, Harry. I was forced to become a monster by the trust placed upon me by others. I always have and will insist upon giving people a second chance. Yet, I did not even give you a choice. I know I condemned you for ten years of neglect and I am cursed for it. "

Oh, how much I want to kill this man in front of me. Even when he's so broken all I want is to break him some more.

"Yet, if given a choice, you'll do it all over again" I tried running my hands through my hair to calm myself down, the monster inside me was begging me to finish this crying old man in front of me.

"As much as I want to deny it, I can't. " A drop of tear trailed along his silvery beard.

"And therein lays our difference, Dumbledore. If it was me who was presented with that choice, I would have chosen the third option. You took the less traveled path; I would have forged a new path. If I had been made to choose, Lucius Malfoy would be dead now. How can a dark lord wage a war without money?"

I started pacing the room.

"I would choose an innocent child over blood stained hands, Dumbledore. I wouldn't give a rapist a second chance, even if he did spy for me."

Dumbledore looked as if he wanted to interrupt, but stopped at the look on my face.

Anya McGraw, a muggleborn who died giving birth to a still baby, whose delivery was performed by Amanda Avery, was raped during a death eater raid. The case never even appeared before wizengamot. Even though she had clearly identified the bastard, it was all tied up in red tape. Nobody asked how or why she died. Her parents, muggles, could do nothing. Her friends were scared. Even the news report of her death went unnoticed as people were focused on the betrayal of Potters by their best bloody friend, Sirius Black.

So the rape charge never even came up.

Severus Snape walked free.

"You say he's a spy, I say he's a rapist. If a man's not judged by his past or present then what is he to be judged of? You saved him, because you need a spy when Voldemort comes back. You are telling me all this because you have finally made another grand plan"

I did not shout. I spoke softly, yet my voice could have cut through steel. I was not angry at his actions; no, I was furious because he never even gave a second thought about his actions. He betrayed the trust placed upon him by the innocents.

"You know why I won't ever forgive you, Dumbledore?" I asked softly, placing my hands on the table and leaning forward so that we were at eye level.

"I won't forgive you, for Anya and thousand other nameless faces wouldn't want me to."

Albus Percivel Wulfric Brian Dumbledore never looked so vulnerable before.

"I did warn you Dumbledore, if you want to control me I'll strike back. I have enough ammunition to destroy you and you have enough of them to destroy me. But we both know that we will never do that, not now, not when it serves no purpose. Right now if we clash, from our blood the foe shall rise. So like two bulls yoked together against their wishes, we are forced to work together," I sat down like I owned the place.

For a long time we did not say anything. Then Dumbledore stood up and without saying anything walked out of the office, motioning me to follow. Our destination? The astronomy tower.

I hope he's not going to suicide.

' _Who am I kidding? I hope he suicides'_

"Your mother once told me love was the greatest power." Dumbledore said so softly that I almost missed it as the wind ruffled my robes.

"Voldemort believes that hatred is the power that drives him," He continued, more to himself than me. Did I push him a bit too far?

"And now I see a boy, no, a man forced to grow up by my action before me. You should have no reason to fight, yet you do. Why?" He asked sadly, gazing at the stars like the answer was etched in the skies.

"Hatred is a powerful thing. But not when it's directed towards others, then it's a weakness. No, it's powerful when you hate your existence. A person who hates himself is a force to reckon with. And love is powerful too, but not when you love only yourself. A person who loves and holds someone above him is dangerous. Because there's nothing that he won't do to save those he holds dear. Now, you tell me, Professor, why do I fight? Is it because I hate Voldemort or is it because I want to be loved? To love? Is it because I hate myself for losing the ones I love? Or is it for those who love me? What is the force that drives me? hatred? Revenge? A sense of justice? Love? You tell me,"

Some questions have no answers, and some things can never be questioned. A few months ago _she_ was everything. Now she's someone dead who was once close to me. An year later, she will be a memory, my biggest what if. Its the truth. Time heals wounds, but it will always leave scars behind.

Honestly, am I fighting because I had promised her that I would?

No.

This has always been my role. Whether being manipulated into it or by choice, I'll always end up in this crossroad.

"What happened to you down in the chamber, Harry?" He asked after what it seemed like an eternity.

There are some secrets worth dying for. No one will ever know about Tam, definitely not him.

"You can ask, but you'll never know. And I'll appreciate if you stop meddling. Or else, I swear, you'll have a war, whether it be with Voldemort or me, that's your choice. Meddle in my affairs again, and you'll realize that I am not bluffing" I let my magic seep in to my voice. He looked at me sadly, seeing the monster he had created.

"So, tell me the reason you called me" I perched on a windowsill. My inner was wolf urging me howl at the full moon.

"He's coming back, sooner than we all have expected him to," said Dumbledore firmly. He looked at me for my reaction.

"So, you have noticed the signs too." He nodded appreciatively.

"Dark mark at world cup, assassination attempts on me, The cup" I mused.

"I assume that it was your name written on that parchment" he looked at me for confirmation. I nodded.

"What I am about to tell you is not to be repeated, Harry. It's imperative that our enemy believes that we are in the dark about this," He paused "I am telling you this because you need to know."

"Do tell, Professor" I replied in a neutral tone.

"This is a three way war. Someone powerful, resourceful and hidden has entered the play."

"I know," I cut him off. " there are at least two spies at Hogwarts. One of them is Nicole De Couteau and the other one is someone who was once close to me."

If we are to work together we have to exploit each other's resources as much as we can. Albus Dumbledore is a political titan with connections even in the darkest corners of earth. He arched an eyebrow.

"Yes, but you are wrong about one thing, Harry." He too sat down on the windowsill.

"There is no Nicole Du couteau"

' _What?'_

And then it clicked. I tried so hard to find what Nicole's motives were. There was none, because Nicole never existed in the first place. It was an alias.

I chuckled as I realized the simplicity and complexity of the idea.

Dumbledore too looked amused.

"There is no record of Nicole existing before her arrival at the orphanage in Paris. No birth record, no vaccination certificates. And since she is a muggleborn nobody didn't even knew her before she entered Beuxbaton." He said seriously.

"Except that she is not a muggleborn, is she?" I asked, already unraveling the mystery in my mind.

"Quite. My contacts at Beuxbatons informs me she is highly knowledgeable in pureblood customs and doesn't get along with the muggleborns in the school"

"When did she arrive at the orphanage?"

"Exactly one month before you started your first year at Hogwarts," Dumbledore replied.

"What an astonishing coincident" I said bitterly and Dumbledore nodded.

"So how was she able to enter the tournament under that name?" I asked.

"The Goblet chose her based on her magic. To the goblet, she is Nicole" He explained and once again started gazing at the stars.

"So what does the Delacours has to do with all this?" I asked and Dumbledore turned his head so fast that I thought I saw a whiplash.

"You shouldn't even know of their existence. You continue to surprise me, Harry. Up to a level that you frighten me" Dumbledore said merrily.

"Yet, you did not answer to my question" I pointed out. Even now he likes to keep his secrets close to his chest.

"I do not know. Sadly, Delacour and I don't get along well with each other. At best we tolerate each other. But I do not think they are on Tom's side. They do not like to bow down and Tom never did like having equals. Yet, I don't think young Miss Delacour is here to just watch the show" said Dumbledore calmly.

"Have you heard of something called Murphy's law, Professor?" I asked rhetorically.

"Everything that can go wrong will go wrong at the worst possible moment," I chuckled as I quoted.

"I consider myself an optimist, Harry" He replied quietly.

"Yet, in my case my life is ruled by that law" I said in a tone that made it clear that I wished this conversation to end now.

Dumbledore sighed and nodded at me, bidding a silent farewell.

* * *

"Are you PMSing?" Cedric's question broke me out of my brooding.

"What?" I splutterd. George was laughing on the floor. Fred high fived Cedric.

"You have been brooding ever since the meeting. Stop with bitching and tell us what happened" He ordered.

Well, he asked for it.

Half an hour later three spluttering idiots sat in front of me.

"Come on, say it" I threatened George, waving my wand menacingly.

"We are your bitches, milord. We beg for thy forgiveness" George grunted and pouted like a five year old.

"This complicates things" Cedric muttered.

 _'Why can't he play along?'_

First Dumbledore and now Cedric. Why can't I have a little bit of fun?

"Actually, this makes this is good news" I corrected him.

"How exactly is this good news? He's coming back " Cedric shouted incredulously.

"We have always known that. This just means our plans have to be pushed forward. We will be prepared for him, when he returns. We'll strike the first blow." I stated firmly.

"How? "

"When?"

"Where?" They all asked at the same time.

"Remember my grand plan?"

"Duh, you drilled that thing in to our brains" Fred said in a small voice.

"Except for the eidattic here" George pointed towards Cedric.

"Eidetic" Cedric corrected for the umpteenth time.

"Yeah, eidattic" Fred nodded. They had found out that Cedric hated mispronouncing things and did this often to annoy him.

Cedric's left eye brow twitched.

"Harry, the plan please" He grunted.

"We are going to have to modify some parts. You guys are going to like the new parts" I nodded towards the twins. They perked up at that.

"Do we get to blow thing up?" Fred asked excitedly.

"Oh, yeah" I grinned evilly.

"Many things?" George asked with a maniacal gleam in his eyes.

"You have no idea" I smirked.

Voldemort have no idea what I have in store for him. It was a grand prank.

Except this time it will be filled with death and destruction.

* * *

"You are grinning" A musical voice startled me.

"And you are spying on me, _again"_ I countered. We were at my spot, _again_.

" _Non_ " She shook her head, her silvery hair rippled like a water fall.

"Fleur, As much as I like talking to you, we both know that there's an higher purpose. Why don't you just tell me what you want?" I asked her bluntly.

"Can't I just be 'ere for the view?" she tilted her head.

I stood up and walked up to her, till our faces were inches apart. It was an intimidation technique but she looked amused.

"Oh, really. Don't tell me you like watching the mermen in the lake?" I knew it was a low blow, considering her reaction to them during the second task. But this was crucial.

Her face contorted with barely controlled rage. She looked like an angel sent to reap my soul.

"You don't want to know, 'Arry " She snarled.

"There's the beast I want to see" I grinned maniacally. What happened next was so fast that I barely saw her move.

She pinned me to the tree, her wand was pushing in to my chest, just over my heart. Her eyes, sapphire blue, sparked with anger. Her normally relaxed body posture was gone. She was in a dueling stance designed specifically for incapacitating the enemy within the first three spells.I saw the Delacour in her for the first time. And I was fascinated.

That was when I noticed something.

The pulsating sensation in my chest had stopped. Time had slowed down. A loose strand of silver hair was slowly slipping past her ear on to her cheek. Her cheeks were red with anger, her lips thin and delicate. An aroma that I have realized by now that was Fleur, teased my nostrils. She looked like the perfect mixture of an angel and a demon. She looked fierce and fragile at the same time. If I didn't know better I would say that I was under her allure.

Then I did something that even surprised me. For all my planning and thinking I did something that went completely against my rules. I did something so foolishly Gryffindor.

I slipped passed her wand.

And I kissed her.

Then the pulsating sensation in my chest returned. Yet time did not speed up. Or that's what I thought, because she was as still as a statue. Her blue eyes were wide opened and didn't even move a little bit.

Then she blinked.

And I realized what I had done.

I just kissed Fleur Delacour.

I was totally fucked.

' _shit'_


	14. Chapter 14

What do I want?

* * *

"My Sorrow, when she's here with me,  
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain  
Are beautiful as days can be;  
She loves the bare, the withered tree;  
She walks the sodden pasture lane"

\- My November Guest, Robert Frost

* * *

 _Then I did something that even surprised me. For all my planning and thinking I did something that went completely against my rules. I did something so foolishly Gryffindor._

 _I slipped passed her wand._

 _And I kissed her._

 _Then the pulsating sensation in my chest returned. Yet time did not speed up. Or that's what I thought, because she was as still as a statue. Her blue eyes were wide opened and didn't even move a little bit._

 _Then she blinked._

 _And I realized what I had done._

 _I just kissed Fleur Delacour._

* * *

My bloody brain just froze; I mean I just kissed Fleur _Delacour._

The same Fleur who's glaring at me now.

Have I told you guys how alluring she looks when she is angry?

"'Arry Potter" She grunted. If I thought she looked angry before, it was nothing compared to now.

' _Sweet heavens, why am I still grinning? I should run. Move legs, move'_

Apple, my lips taste like apple.

Of all the things that I thought Fleur could do, I never thought she could do a perfect mean right hook.

"You, I'll graaah" she stamped her foot in anger, turned on her heel and stampeded towards the carriage all the while swearing at top speed in French.

Now, I could lie and say that I had a charming smile on my face as I watched her leave.

But the truth was that I was on the ground, trying to reboot my stupid brain.

Why the fuck did I kiss her?

HER?

I just signed my death warrant. There's a reason why her classmates won't even dare to look at her. Yet I was not a bit fazed.

She is a Delacour.

' _So?'_

I just kissed a Delacour.

But why was I still grinning like a loon?

Oh, I was _so_ fucked.

* * *

" Harry" Cedric was waving his hands in front of me.

"Yeah"

"Harry"

"mmhm"

"Why are you bleeding?" He asked, not much concerned.

"I am bleeding?"

' _Huh, must have been one hell of a right hook'_

We were in the room of requirement. He was half way into doing some crazy experiments.

"Did you duel with Flitwick?"

He thinks that I had another dueling session with Flitwick. After dueling with Flitwick I usually look like crap.

' _Tel him something, you moron'_

"What did you do this time?" Cedric sighed. He was missing half an eyebrow.

' _Fuck, come on brain, make up some lie.'_

I shook my head. Cedric suddenly narrowed his eyes.

"What are you hiding?"

"Me? Nothing" I squeaked. My bloody brain was still rebooting, because I just lied to one guy that I can't.

"You didn't" He gasped.

"Didn't do what?" I countered.

"You smell like _her_." He accused.

"I just had a talk with her, like I usually do." I hastily replied.

"Except that you are flustered up now, What. Did. You. Do?" He asked, suspiciously.

"I kissed her"

" _What?"_ It was his turn to squeak.

"And she knocked me off my feet" I continued in a small voice looking at the floor.

"So she liked it?" He asked, looking relieved.

"No, She punched me and knocked me off my feet, literally" I said quietly.

Silence, I looked up.

He was stunned; he looked at me with open mouth for sometime before,

"What the fuck were you thinking?" He shouted incredulously.

"I wasn't thinking. It just sort of happened" I shrugged apologetically.

"Yeah, no shit. You just kissed a Delacour, Harry. And you call _me_ an adrenaline junkie."

"Look, I just had to" I tried to explain.

"You had to? What, did she feed you amortentia? Is it not enough that we have enough enemies? You just had to bring the Delacours in too" He looked on the verge of breaking down.

"Look, Cedric. Calm down"

"Calm down? Why are you so calm, Harry? Didn't you tell me that Apoline Delacour like to burn people alive?"

"It's only a rumor, Ced" I spoke calmly, as if trying to calm down a child.

"You are off your bonkers, Harry. When you told me that we would get to fight dark lords daily, I didn't realize that you meant that literally" He exasperated.

"Hey," I shouted indignantly. "You were the one that told me that she liked me" I pointed out.

"And you told me that she could fool even me. " He countered.

Er, I did say that, didn't I?

"But you planted that idea in me" I said weakly.

"What is-

"This?

"Lover's spat?"

Perfect, just what I needed.

" _He_ kissed _her_ " Cedric sold me out without a moment's hesitation.

"Yes" Twin on my left shouted just as the twin on my right cried"No"

"Cough up, George" Fred demanded.

George pouted at me as he handed Fred a galleon over.

"You guys bet on me kissing Fleur?" I cried indignantly.

"If it's any consolation, Cedric did too" Fred shrugged.

"What?" What is this? Pick on Potter day?

"Hey, I lost," Cedric exclaimed."I thought you would not be foolish so as to actually kiss her"

"Brutus's, the lot of you" I shook my head.

"Well, did it work?" Fred asked, excitedly.

"Did what work?"

"Did time stop when you kissed her?" George clarified.

"Actually, it was the other way around" I stood up and replied as I started walking out.

"What do you mea-"

I closed the door before he could complete the question. I walked lazily towards the Gryffindor tower, perfect place to brood about brash and foolish choices.

Now I don't need people to lecture me about the ramifications of my action. Was it stupid of me to kiss her?

' _Hell, yeah'_

Will it possibly come back to bite me in my ass?

' _Yep'_

I was not afraid of the Delacours, No I was afraid because she was able to get past my walls so easily.

"Harry, you're scaring the firsties"

I noticed that the fire in the fire place was burning a bright green color. The common room was empty except for a few first years who sat as far and still as possible to avoid being detected by me, and Katie Bell.

"Yeah, Sorry" I apologized as I reined in my aura. The flames turned back to their original crimson red color.

"He says he needs the common room for himself" She shouted and the firsties scrambled out.

I arched an eyebrow.

She shrank a little bit seeing the serious look on my face.

"Gee, Harry, now you're scaring me." She said in a small voice.

"It was meant to scare you." I replied coldly.

I was not in a mood to talk. And even if I was I wouldn't do it with Katie. Not when she could be a possible spy.

"Good night, Katie" I said dismissively.

"Good night, Harry"

I noticed that she was blushing when she left.

Just what I needed, I sighed as I climbed the steps to fourth year dorms. I was not in a mood to walk all the way over to the chamber, so I decided to spend the night in the tower.

"I'm telling you, Lavender really did say that" Seamus was recounting yet another of his conquest to my dorm mates.

"So did you?" Ron asked, excitedly.

"What do you think?" He asked, grinning lecherously.

"No way" Dean exclaimed.

' _That could have been you sitting there and chatting'_ a stray thought drifted in.

My fellow classmates were having conversations about girls and here I was, trying to defeat a dark lord. What would normal life feel like?

If I ever find fate, we are going to have one hell of a conversation. I disillusioned myself and made a ward line around my bed. On a whim added a notice-me-not charm on my bed before climbing on to it. The warm cozy feeling was soon lulled me slowly into sleep.

* * *

"Harry, what are you doing here?" Hermione asked curiously.

"What? I need a reason to study transfiguration?" I countered.

She merely raised an eyebrow.

"I just wanted some time to think" I explained.

"So, you decided to come to transfiguration class all of a sudden after three weeks?" She asked incredulously.

"Duh"

I replied as if it was obvious. Why can't she see the logic?

I need to do something to keep my mind off her, to think about other things.

' _Don't think about the fact that you kissed Fleur'_

Oh, come on. There it was again. Fleur. No matter what I do I end up thinking about her.

"Mr. Potter, What a pleasant surprise" professor kitty greeted me. But I can see she's amused.

"Oh, I'm happy to see you too, Minnie" I flashed a charming smile. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that Hermione was looking gob smacked.

"Detention, Again" Said McGonagall sharply, but I saw her lips twitching. These detentions are in fact advance transfiguration tuition. She was a cool gal once you get close to her. I know my father used to call her Minnie because she told us that during our last _detention._ Frankly, I like these detentions because she has these chocolate cookies imported directly from France and let me tell you, they taste simply awesome.

' _Hmm, France, awesome, Fleur'_

' _Not again_ '

I whined internally.

And then a knock on the dungeon door burst in on my thoughts.

It was Colin Creevey; he edged into the room, beaming at me, and walked up to Minnie's desk at the front of the room.

"Yes?" said she curtly.

"Please, professor, I'm supposed to take Harry Potter upstairs."

"Are you now?" Minnie was using her tough routine.

Colin went pink.

"Prof-Professor, Mr. Bagman wants him," he said nervously. "All the champions have got to go, I think it's about the next task. …"

"Very well, you are excused Mr. Potter. Don't be late for your detention" Said McGonagall brusquely.

I got up, and headed for the door. As I walked past Minnie's table she gave me a quick wink.

Honestly, I don't know why people are scared of her. She's pure awesome.

"It's amazing, isn't it, Harry?" said Colin, starting to speak the moment I closed the dungeon door. "Isn't it, though? You being champion?"

"Yeah, really amazing," I said with a fake enthusiasm.

If I were a dark lord, Colin would have been a minion by now. Still, it won't hurt to have a few faithful followers.

"I heard your brother is in Gryffindor" I said conversationally. He perked up and started blabbering on and on about something.

I just nodded and hummed occasionally.

"- I thought so too, but-"

"Mmhm"

I was going to see Fleur any minute now. I would rather fight a dragon again.

"-Wants an autograph-

' _She won't kill me in a room full of witnesses, will she?'_

"-And then he was all like, no way he killed a zombie-"

' _I mean, on the positive side, I destroyed all plans involving me with that move. But on the other hand,'_

"-But Filch didn't believe me-"

' _I mean, she did like me and enjoyed my company,'_

"Then, Mrs. Norris died, and my brother said that you conjured a dragon which ate-"

"Yeah" I said offhandedly.

' _But she hit me. Perhaps she was on PMS and was confused because of her_ _hormones?'_

"WOW" Collin shouted excitedly and I jumped.

"What?" I asked, annoyed.

"I totally knew it, you are way too awesome, Harry" He exclaimed.

' _What did I just tell him?'_

"Anyway, this is the room, See ya later" He shouted as he ran, possibly off to spread news about my awesomeness.

Krum was leaning against the wall on the far side of the small room, staring at nothing in a rather broody fashion. Vladimir was not present. Karakaroff glared at me, as if he knew that I had a hand in Vladimir's accident.

Maxime stood close-mouthed and rigid, next to her champion, Nicole, warily eyeing anyone in the room that passed too near to either of them.

' _Where is Fleur?'_

Cedric was standing opposite to Maxime. Oddly, he was not looking at me, but a point over my shoulder.

I felt a hand slip in to my pocket.

I turned and saw the beautiful face of Fleur.

She crossed the room without saying anything and stood at her place besides Madame Maxime. Her face was obscured by a mass of silver hair.

I shrugged and walked towards Cedric, who looked relieved.

Bagman walked in whistling jovially followed by Dumbledore who looked rather sour. Crouch was missing.

"Good to see you all," Bagman began. "After the first two tasks I know there's some tension between the schools," He paused and looked pointedly towards Krum who was glaring at me.

"So, this next task will be giving you a chance to resolve those issues." He chuckled at his own joke.

Apparently we missed the joke.

"The next task will be Dueling" He shouted the last bit out.

"Dueling?" Krum grunted, somehow he looked happier than just a minute ago.

"Yes. This will be an individual task. Each of you will have to face champions from other school individually. The school with most wins will win the task." He replied jovially.

Cedric glanced back and forth between Fleur and me.

"What are ze rules?" Nicole asked.

"Anything bar unforgivable curses are allowed" He gave a brilliant smile.

"You want a blood bath" Cedric said, when he realized the truth.

"Oh, come on. You all knew what you were signing up for. Don't be a joy kill." Bagman shook his head, disappointed at the lack of enthusiasm from Cedric.

I would have said something. But I was focused on Fleur. She hasn't moved a bit at the news. In fact her face was still obscured by a curtain of her silvery hair.

"Now, the task will be held precisely one week from now. That's it. Now off you all go"

Fleur was the first one to leave the class. Cedric looked at me curiously, but I mouthed 'later' . He shrugged and went back to his class.

I searched my pocket and found a parchment.

' _Meet me at the spot at midnight'_

Well, that makes thing much easier.

"Hello, Harry Potter" A dreamy voice came from behind me. I don't need to turn around to know who called me.

"Hello, Luna. Don't you have a class to attend?"

"Yes, charms" She replied merrily. I waited for an explanation, but after a few awkward second for me I decided to ask,

"So, why are you here?"

"To speak with you, " She looked confused.

' _Duh,'_

"About?" I asked tentatively.

" Girls" She replied.

Now, considering all the strange things that happened in my life, on a scale from one to ten, ten being Voldemort possessing Quirell and one being seeing Ron eating, this rates a five.

"Can you elaborate a bit?"

Her entire posture changed, her eyes were not dreamy anymore but sharp and cold. She stood straight up, her wand was midway raised.

But I had my wand pointing in between her eyes.

She smiled appreciatively. It unnerved me. That feral look on her normal dreamy face seemed unnatural.

"You are playing a dangerous game, Harry. You gained a lot of attention from places you should not have." She said calmly, completely ignoring my wand.

"I know." I was not surprised to find occlumency shields preventing my legilimency scan.

"Oh, they know that you know. That's the reason why they are so interested in you. You know many things that you shouldn't know, Harry. Things that are kept secrets at the cost of many lives" She grinned, a truly sadistic smile spreading across her face. The not so subtle threat was not missed by me.

"Is that what you are trying to do, eliminate the threat?" I pressed my wand more into her forehead.

"Oh, you got it all wrong. We are the one's keeping you alive, Harry. Which is why I am warning you, stay away from Fleur."

Oh, she slipped. She said Fleur, not Delacour. That implies a close relationship. She knows more than one Delacour.

"So, you work for Apoline," I smirked and her smile faltered.

' _Strike one'_

I lowered my wand which unsettled her further.

"Tell her that Harry Potter welcomes her personally in to the game. Don't look so surprised, dearie. I know much more than I should. I even know what happened to your mom, oh, that's a sore spot, isn't it?"

She looked on the verge of an explosion.

' _Strike two'_

" I know what Lovegoods are,dear Luna. In fact, I knew from the moment you approached me. Why do you think I asked for a subscription of Quibbler? A tracking charm on the owl and voila, I got the address of all of your subscribers in a month. It was a complex charm, pretty hard to detect and was working perfectly till a week ago. Apparently, someone in France found my tracking charm. But then again, that's Delacours for you. A pity, don't you think?"

I mused as she paled.

' _Strike three, kiddo'_

"So, Tell Apoline that I don't want to waste my time speaking with servants. I am way above your league, dear. I saw right through you the moment I saw you. Learn to lie better, sweetie."

The first time she came to me she played the part of a bullied kid. I almost missed the signs. A bullied child never opens up that soon with strangers. She could have gotten away with it, If not for Cedric's eidetic memory picking up the oddities in her behavior. It's nigh impossible to fool Cedric with acting. No matter how good you are you will always leave small clues behind. A slight twitch of an eye, a trembling hand. She was on my list of people to watch out from day one. Add that to the fact that I met her mere hours before Fleur made contact with me; she was set up to fail from the beginning. So, I did what I do. I made a noose and tied it around her neck without even letting her know.

Now I know who reads Quibbler.

Why is that important?

Coded messages.

Hit orders, supplies, dealers, smuggled items up for sales, all published in a news paper. Hidden behind all those silly news about crumple horned things and what not. Visible for only those who are meant to see them. I haven't yet decoded all of them, but I don't need to. I know who all reads the messages. They have been running this for so long without a glitch, they became arrogant. Arrogance leads to carelessness. Which, I exploited freely. Miss a single step and you will fall. The higher you are on the ladder, greater shall be the fall.

I now know all of Lovegood's associates in Britain. And since Lovegood's apparently works for Delacours, I know their allies in Britain. And it was quite a list too. I have the upper hand now. Information is everything. She just gave me a golden goose.

"Now, off you go" I patted her shoulder.

' _I will not bow down'_

"You have no idea what you-"

"Spare me the threats, dear. You just gave me exactly what I wanted," I smirked.

"Now, Leave" I ordered, forcing my magic in to my voice. She all but ran away.

' _Cedric's going to like this one'_ I chuckled as I imagined his reaction.

* * *

It was midnight and I was waiting for Fleur. Silver colored flowers shone brightly under the moon light.

The moon light caressed the green grassland.

Earth and sky, Lovers, forever cursed to not embrace one another.

I had not told anyone about coming to here. Why?

Why, indeed.

"You came" The musical voice of Fleur came from behind me.

"You came too" I said quietly, not looking back.

I sat down gazing at the moon.

She sat down close to me. Very close.

"You are stupid, 'Arry" She stated. I glanced at her. She looked simply ethereal under the moon light. I again felt the sudden urge to kiss her.

"Why did you kiss me?" She asked, curiously.

"Why did you hit me?" I countered.

"You stole my first kiss right after you purposefully riled me up"

' _oh'_

"Why did you kiss me?" She asked, again. She tilted her head, looking at me as if I were something alien.

I kept quiet.

"You know about my _maman,_ you know about Luna. You know you are playing a dangerous game. Yet, you kissed me. Why?" She pressed on.

"Because you are dangerous" I replied.

It was the truth. She fascinates me, her laziness, fierceness, skills, intelligence, everything about her fascinates me.

"May be that's what I want you to do. To pursue me"

"That makes it much more alluring" I mused.

"You puzzle me 'Arry" Said Fleur as she stood up. Then she ruffled my hair and kissed me lightly on my cheek. Her sweet aroma and soft lips, a tingle of electricity ran down my spine.

"Good night, 'Arry"

"Good night, Fleur"

I knew that I was in for one hell of a ride as I watched her leave.

I knew exactly what I wanted.

I wanted the forbidden fruit.

I wanted Fleur.


	15. Chapter 15

How to get the girl?

"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light."

-Plato

* * *

Warning: contains torture.

* * *

"Hiya again, Drakey" I said merrily as I shoved a bound and gagged malfoy into an abandoned classroom down in the dungeon. It was a pretty small class room. I wove an intrinsic network of privacy charms over the door.

You would not believe how easy it was for me to 'kidnap' the moron.

The little coward was so afraid of me that he didn't even leave the common hall during weekends. He just shut himself in his room. All it took was my cloak and a stunning spell.

He made frantic movements to escape from the bonds.

"Draco, dear. I really _really_ don't want to break your bones. But if you insist on it…" I trailed off.

He stopped struggling and looked at me with wide eyes.

"Now, I am going to ask you a favor. And you'll do that for me" I commanded softly.

He nodded frantically.

"Good boy" I untied the gag from his mouth.

"Pl-Please-" He started begging but I placed a finger on his lips to silence him.

"Tsk, tsk.. I don't believe I gave you permission to speak, Drake" I smiled sadistically and he paled.

"I'm sorry" he apologized quickly.

I wasn't going to torture the idiot. No, the torturing part was over. But he doesn't know that. The fear of the pain has greater effect than pain itself.

"Tell daddy Lucy to come to Hog's head for a meeting tomorrow. Don't mention my name. I don't care what lies you have to feed him, he must be there. Savvy?"

He nodded his head fearfully.

"You really aren't what zey zink you are, 'Arry" A sweet voice mused.

There was only one person in the castle with that accent who could bypass my wards.

"Bonjour, Fleur" I greeted her without turning around.

Malfoy looked relieved at the appearance of Fleur.

"Bounjour, 'Arry. You really have, what is ze zing, oui, scared ze pants off 'im, 'aven't you?" She whispered as she peered at Malfoy over my shoulders. Her hair tickled my ears.

"Fleur, I am in the middle of threatening his life"

Malfoy looked at her with pleading eyes.

"Oh, Carry on" She said amusedly.

"You aren't going to give me a lecture me on humanity?"

"Zat would make me a 'ypocrite, 'Arry" She chided.

'oh'

Whereas a normal person would be scared, I was fascinated.

' _Ooooh, she can do torture too'_

All hope had left malfoy's eyes by now.

' _Stupify'_

I may have over powered the spell, but hey, this guy wanted to be my arch enemy.

"So Flow- I mean, Fleur, to what do I owe you the pleasure of your sweet presence?" I asked in an overly humble tone.

"Cute, 'Arry. But I 'ave seen ze bad boy technique many times before," She shook her head amusedly.

"You have had people coming on to you just after they finished torturing someone?" I asked incredulously.

"You were scaring 'im, not torturing." She pointed out.

"You didn't answer my question"

"Oui, one _conchon_ asked me out right after he killed someone in front of me" she shrugged as if it was nothing, but her eyes told another story.

' _Weak willed fools'_

"And what did you do?"

"I kicked 'im where eet hurts ze most" She replied in a haughty manner.

I involuntarily took a step back and she noticed it. Her eyes were sparkling with mirth.

"So, I need to try harder if I am to woo you" I mused.

"You really shouldn't, 'Arry" Fleur said softly.

"That's exactly why I want to" I said quickly.

"Because I am unattainable?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.

' _Ooh, that's a trap. Don't answer it'_

"No, I want you, because I have to. "

"Zat is not a clear answer" She arched an eyebrow.

' _Holy smokes, that's beuuuuuutiful'_

' _Rile her up more!'_

"I know, you'll understand when I sweep you off your feet" I flashed a boyish grin. Her lips twitched.

"You really should stay away, 'Arry" She said, this time there was no mistaking the concern in her voice.

"I was never one for the rules, Fleur"

"Somehow I get ze feeling zat you know what you are in for, 'Arry. So eizzer you are incredibly stupid or don't care about ze consequences at all"

"Why can't I be both?" I asked smugly. I was being infuriating on purpose. For all her training, she fell for the oldest trick in the book. Her eyes were sparkling with fury, lips twitching, cheeks reddening. It was mesmerizing.

"You, I'll argh….. 'ow is eet zat you are able to make me zis angry so easily?" She asked furiously.

"I'll tell you if you kiss me now" I smiled smugly.

She stamped her foot in anger.

"I'll see you later, 'Arry Potter" She huffed as she left. Her waist length silvery hair fanned out in the air as she walked away.

A tornado, I realized.

Fleur Delacour resembled a tornado in many aspects.

She is fierce, rough, powerful and unpredictable. She barged in on my life without any warning and swept me off my feet. I never even stood a chance.

Yet inside all that turbulence, lays a calm quiet Fleur.

Just like the eye of a tornado, very few have seen the real Fleur. I saw it, and that was the end of me.

I wanted her.

The concept of reverse psychology is very simple. You tell someone they can't do something, and they'll do it, just to prove you wrong.

Men call it playing hard to get.

What do women call it?

 _How can I know? Ask them._

I have no idea what she want me to do.

Does she want me to pursue her?

Or did she warn me to stay away from her because she actually is afraid for me?

Even if she did want me to pursue her, is it because she wants to or because Apoline had forced her to do so?

Or is she the master mind?

I know the best thing for me is to stay away from her, yet I can't.

Is this how Cedric feels? Is this what feels to be an adrenaline junkie? Is this what seeking danger out feels like?

Of course, my treacherous brain had to sing 'as long as you love me' over and over again as I tried to see the reason, the logic.

If your name is Harry-effing-bleeding-Potter, you are fate's favorite bitch.

"Good night, Drakey poo"

I left the room leaving an unconscious Draco behind.

* * *

"So?" the twins asked as soon as I entered the room.

"So what?"

"You are alive" Fred pointed out..

Fred looked confused so as to why I was still alive.

"So?"

"You met _her_ down in the dungeons" George added.

They had the map, I had asked them to watch out for potential spies within the castle. They must have seen my meeting with her on the map.

"So?"

"She slipped you a paper yesterday" George said, eying towards Cedric.

"You are alive" Fred said, again.

"She didn't kill you" George poked me, making sure that I was not dead.

"So?"

"Why didn't you run away from her?"

"Oh, ho." Fred exclaimed.

"What is it, Freddie?" George asked curiously.

"Ickle Harry likes Fleur"

"Duh, He kissed her" George smacked Fred's head.

"No, he really, really, like _like_ her" he was almost bursting with giddiness.

"So?" I asked again.

"She's a Delacour" They all shouted simultaneously.

"So?"

"Will you stop it?" The twins yelled, annoyed.

"Stop what?" I asked innocently.

"This " They gestured all of me.

"You want me to stop being me" I deadpanned.

"Yes" George replied, annoyed. Apparently they didn't like when somebody do this to them.

"Why?" I asked innocently.

"Oh, leave him, you fools. He probably has it all planned out" Cedric said bemusedly.

' _Why can't I have a bit of fun?'_

"Just be careful, Harry" He added seriously.

This was why I like Ced. He doesn't like the Delacours, but he will stand beside me. He knows I can take care of myself.

"I will. " I said solemnly as I stood up.

"Minions"

"Yes, Milord?" Fred replied, hopefully.

"Exactly how many of Erumpent horns would one need to prepare a bomb with twelve meter radius?"

"Hypothetically, Milord?"

"Obviously"

"Three. Though if one were to create something like that, they would need at least three weeks to do so, we are speaking, of course, hypothetically."

"Then I have a suspicion that you two are going to have a busy three weeks" I mused.

"Your all seeing eyes are never wrong, milord" they chimed.

"Now, rise and wreak havoc in my absence. Let the castle be swallowed by chaos. I shall need some time to do some, er, royal things. You shall keep the peasants distracted."

I let out an evil laugh.

* * *

It was a Hogsmeade weekend, so it was the perfect opportunity to sneak off. A notice me not charm and disillusionment charm was all that it took for us to get away from the horde of fan girls.

I saw a Lucius Malfoy entering the Hog's head, wearing look of absolute disgust on his face.

"Follow me" I whispered to a disillusioned Cedric. He tapped my shoulder to acknowledge me.

"Lucius Malfoy"

"Potter, what are you doing here?"

"That I shall answer in private." I used an ice cold tone.

"And why should I oblige you?"

He thinks that I am a naive kid.

"Do I have to threaten you in front of all of Hogsmeade?" I asked softly.

"What makes you think that you can get away with anything?"

Honestly, I thought papa Lucy had better skill set than his son. Terrible poker face I have ever seen.

"Former death eater attacking Boy-Who-Lived? Come on, Lucy. Save the banter for the private meeting. Follow me."

I walked in front of him to make him think that I was an amateur. I could almost see his sneer, scoffing at my naivety. I opened the door and gestured him to enter.

The room was disgusting. His immaculate robes clashed horribly with the dusty and dirty room. It smelt as if something had died, and judging by the black stain on the floor something probably had.

"You must be wondering why I summoned you here today" I said softly.

"Summoned me?" He sneered.

"Of course, who did you expected to meet? Voldemort?"

"Don't say his name" Malfoy hissed angrily but at that precise moment Cedric shimmered back into view with his wand tip pressed firmly against Malfoy's left temple.

"What? Did you think I was foolish enough to meet a death eater alone?" I let out a dry chuckle.

"I was imperiused" He replied almost reflexively. Cedric snorted.

"Cut the crap, Lucy. Let's talk business"

I conjured an elegant chair out of thin air and sat on in imperiously. Cedric shuffled so that he was right behind Malfoy and had his wand pressed on Malfoy's base of skull.

"What would Dumbledore do when he learns that his golden boy threatened a noble pureblood lord?" Lucius asked, trying to find my weak points. His eyes were cold and calculating.

"I wouldn't know. But you needn't worry about that. You should be worried for your family, Lucius"

There it was. My ace card .His face betrayed him for a second. A flash of anger and terror. When I had legilmenced Draco I found out that Malfoys rivaled Weasley's in terms of family loyalty. Papa Lucy's fatal flaw was his love towards his family.

"You haven't grown enough to threaten me, _boy_ " He spat, his face contorting.

"Oh, you misunderstood me, Lucius. I am not the one the one threatening your family. Your so called dark lord will be the one to finish them."

"What kind of blasphemy is this, Potter?"

Time to tie the noose.

"Tell me, what do you know of the diary you gave to the Weasley girl?"

He let out a hollow laugh.

"Oh, you think you can blackmail me. Is that what is about? Revenge for the blood traitors?"

It was my turn I laugh. And I saw that he was unnerved by my lack of concerns for the Weasley clan. Cedric looked like he wanted to say something, but I gave him a sharp look to let him know that we were going to finish this my way.

"You are underestimating me, Lucy. That diary was a way to ensure Voldemorts immortality. And when he returns I am pretty sure that he won't be pleased to know of its fate. You see, I destroyed it," I paused to watch his rapidly paling face.

"Of course, he won't kill you. He needs you for your resources. But can the same be said for dear Narcissa or Draco? You know that his wrath can only be quenched by blood of a Malfoy. And now you know about the existence of his anchors to life too. Many lives were torn apart to create and hide his anchors. I wonder what he will do when he realizes that you know of their existence and purpose." I mused. Malfoy's emotions were running so high that he was projecting his desperation past his occlumency shields. My legilimency scan easily slipped pass through that crack. I slowly nudged his mind to replay the times a family was tortured in front of him.

 _I saw Voldemort standing in an elegent room, surrounded by masked death eaters._

" _Watch, Alastor. Watch as I kill your daughter, your wife, your son and his wife. Watch as they die. Watch, for this is a message, a lesson for those who oppose the revolution. This is what happens to those who dare defy me. "_

 _A muffled voice came from behind me. I turned around to see the source._

 _It was Alastor Moody._

 _I was seeing Voldemort torturing Moody. I watched the scene through Malfoy's eyes, feeling what he felt._

 _The maniacal laughter of Bellatrix Lestrange broke the silence that followed Voldemort's words._

 _She skipped towards Moody's daughter and produced a silver knife from her left pocket. Voldemorts smiled bemusedly as he watched Bellatrix cut a vein on Moody's daughter' neck. The girl looked only eighteen. Her eyes were filled with fear, her lips quivering. She was naked, as was her entire family. A horde of Death eaters were eyeing her lecherously. I felt Lucius's lust. Moody was missing a leg. His left eye was bleeding profusely. His right eye was watered up._

 _I saw him struggling to escape from the bonds, trying to save his daughter._

 _Voldemort laughed as he watched moody's fruitless attempt. A cold, cruel and lifeless sound._

" _This is your punishment Alastor. You shall spend the rest of your life in the dungeons, reliving this day. Cursing the moment you chose to oppose me."_

 _He waved some death eaters over._

 _Alastor let out a howl as he saw his son and wife being used in front of his eyes. Malfoy had his death eater mask on as he approached Moody's daughter in law._

 _Like blood thirsty hyenas they ripped apart the family in front of Moody's eyes._

I suppressed my anger. This bastard had done numerous crimes, yet he walked free.

' _Not yet, his time will come soon'_

I nudged his brain to substitute the image of Moody's wife with Narcissa's face. I showed him Draco's face whenever he looked at Moody's son.

" _Save me, Father" Draco was crying when a werewolf ripped his left arm off._

" _Help me, Lucius" Narcissa cried as a masked death eater started disrobing._

Malfoy shuddered. Obviously the _fucking asshole_ wasn't able to deal with that.

' _Oh, the special tortures I have planned for you'_ My inner demon was snarling.

"He'll forgive me" He sounded hopeful. He hadn't noticed my passive nudge with legilimency.

"What have you done for him, Lucius? You hid behind the lies you created. You never searched for him but chose to livve in luxury, claimimg thatt you were imperioused by him. I doubt he'll forgive you. Moreover do you think he'll let you live once he realizes that you hold the key to his demise? Even if he does forgive you, what about your family? Will he be lenient? What do you think, Cedric?"

"Oh, personally I am hoping for blood and death. Let the bastard get what he deserves"

Cedric shrugged as he lowered his wand, his voice dripping with contempt.

"What do you want? I doubt you came here to _offer_ your help" Malfoy tried to sneer, but failed to deliver. His eyes revealed his vulnerable state.

"Now we are talking, let's get down to business, Shall we?" I rubbed my hands together excitedly.

' _You have no idea what you just signed up for Lucius'_

* * *

"So, how's the life of a champion? " Hagrid asked cheerfully.

He was making breakfast for me. For the life of me I can't figure out why I agreed to eat something made by him. The stain on the pot looked oddly like dried unicorn blood.

"It's interesting" I shrugged. "Say, what happened with you and Maxime? I never got the chance to ask"

He snorted.

"Nothin', she wanted sommone with big bones fer her, not a half giant" He said bitterly as he slammed the kettle on the table.

Okay, that was not a good topic.

"So, what's happening with your class? I heard Hermione saying that you got some new species" I said with fake enthusiasm. As much as I love Hagrid, I can't say the love extends towards his pets. Fluffy, Norbert, Aragog. I think it's reasonable for me to say that one way or another his pets always lands me in trouble.

"Yeah. Yeh'll love them. Blast ended skrewts. Come here, Harry" He motioned me to come over. He was holding a big wooden box containing the most disgusting things I have ever seen. The 'skrewts' looked like a cross between crab and a scorpion. Every now and then they would emit some spark and propel some inches forward. They were only six inches in length.

For now.

"Yeah, real beauties"

"Told yeh" He said happily. He somehow missed my sarcastic tone and the incredulous look on my face.

"Say, do they have any weaknesses, Hagrid?" I asked, tentatively.

"Can't stand the cold, poor things. Three of 'em died last night 'cause I forgot to put 'em near the fireplace, bless 'em" He sniffed. "Why?"

Oh, I don't know. Because I may need it to save my life when these blasted things try to kill me?

"Just curious" I simply said.

"Ha, Break fast's ready. Would yeh look at that? Yummy" He said merrily as he placed a plate full of something in front of me. It was semi fluid and dark grey in color.

It looked like prison food, except that I am pretty sure that in prison food has better quality.

' _I should have eaten from the kitchen'_

I picked up a spoon and scooped up some _'gravy' ._ I shook the spoon to know what I was dealing with.

"Yummy" I grunted as I watched the thick glue like thing defying gravity and still holding on to the spoon.

Hagrid beamed.

* * *

I'm back... I know, this is not an update... But I edited the previous chapters, merged some. New chapters will be uploaded soooon.

P.S. I need a beta. so, if anyone's interested please PM me


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